Team RUST
by The Emerald's Edge
Summary: Hailing from Shade Academy in Vacuo Rhia Teysa, Ulrich "Brick" Mauer, Sin Saber and Alena Teysa come together with different motivations, but the same end goal in mind, a goal shared by many people. To make the world a better place. But there is more than one way to do that and the first step is by becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses.
1. RUST

Rhia Teysa. Fox Faunus.

Rhia and her sister were born in Atlas under the "protection and shelter" of a branch of the Schnee Dust Company. From the age of seven, she and her family were given jobs by the world renowned dust company, her parents as miners and Rhia and her older sister as maids for the branch manager. Like most Faunus Rhia and her family suffered near-constant discrimination from their employers. In addition to the racial discrimination, she was treated poorly often talked down to and insulted and sometimes physically reprimanded for not doing a good enough job.

She and her family were paid for their work, but far below even the most menial job, a human would have. It was just the reality of her kind. All Faunus were treated like this, like lesser creatures or base animals just because they looked a bit different from humans. On the worst days she would cry herself to sleep while her sister held onto to her and over the years she grew to hate humans.

As she grew, she started spending her free time reading, wanting to learn about the world beyond Atlas. The other kingdoms she had always dreamed of being able to break free from the Schnee Company and Atlas, but she never thought of where she would go, not that anything could be worse than where she was now. After reading about the rest of the world, however, she started dreaming about each of the kingdoms and which ones she would like to visit. The older she got, the more tasks she was given and one day while cleaning the hall outside the branch manager's office she overheard talk of a group of Faunus that called themselves "The White Fang."

She listened closer to hear more, according to the branch manager the White Fang was a radical group of terrorists comprised solely of Faunus that traveled around and attacked the Schnee Company and their property and violently harmed anyone who got in their way. Based on the discrimination against the Faunus, Rhia was sure the parts about the White Fang being violent criminals was an exaggeration. Although even if it weren't, she would care because from that day she dreamed not only of escaping but of the White Fang coming to destroy this evil place and the monsters that ran it. In the face of her growing hatred for humans especially the ones that worked for the Schnee Company, Rhia was able to smile on some days and keep her childish innocence thanks to the protection of her sister even if it only lasted for a short time.

Her life only got worse when she turned thirteen. Her mother had passed out from exhaustion, and the foreman's and supervisors did nothing to help her, instead of ordering the other workers to force her back up and back to work. Her mother became sick within the next few days and by the end of the week died. Rhia cried herself to sleep again that night hoping, praying that something would come to free her from the hellish nightmare that was her life and at the end of the next day her wishes had all come true.

Rhia and her sister exhausted from another day of being overworked met with their father outside the entrance to the main mine tunnel so they could walk home together. Before they reached their home, an explosion ripped through the air, and an enormous ball of fire shot into the sky above the main factory and the station where the refined dust was to be shipped out. She heard gunshots and screams as swarms of guards ran to confront whatever was going on and she heard one of them declare that they were under attack by the White Fang. This was it she thought, finally this place would be destroyed, and her family would be free. Her father must have had the same thought as he began pushing them away from the factory and mines and toward the transport station, this was their chance to escape to stowaway on one of the trains and flee.

Arriving at the station her father called out to the members of the White Fang and begged them to take him and his daughters with them. The attacking Faunus allowed them on, but before they could leave a squad of guards appeared to try and stop them from stealing the transport train. Rhia's father pushed both of his daughters onto the train and turned to block the path of the guards allowing his children and the White Fang to escape. Rhia's sister covered her eyes as her father was gunned down by the guard's, but Rhia could hear the screams of not only her father, but the people fighting and dying amongst the chaos of the attack.

She was finally free of that nightmare, and as relieved as she was she couldn't bring herself to feel joy over it. Both her mother and father were dead, and she was left with only her sister the two of them continued to flee eventually parting ways with the White Fang to find their way in the world.

* * *

Ulrich "Brick" Mauer. Bear Faunus.

Ulrich barely remembers his parents; he was forced to work in one of the mines owned by the Schnee Company. Due to his large size, the corrupt branch manager put Ulrich to work in the nearby dust mine at the age of nine. Ulrich was big for his age, standing at almost six feet by the time he was ten and weighing just under one hundred-sixty. Although he was large and vigorous, Ulrich was quiet and passive always doing what he was told.

He would do the mining work of two men before his teenage years, and as he aged, he did more and more work eventually doing labor that would take at least four to pull off when he was fourteen. Because of his size and strength and the fact that he never talked many of the Schnee workers thought he was challenged in some way and often made fun of him, something Ulrich never let bother him. Ulrich only ever talked to the other children or the vulnerable workers, human or Faunus, it made no difference to him.

The overseer of the mine was as corrupt as he was cruel, feeding the workers only enough to keep them alive and forcing them to continue working, children included and if one of the workers ever became a liability, he would sell them to one of the many gangs or criminal circles that populated Mistral. The only person Ulrich ever felt rage toward. When lunch time would come around Ulrich would only keep small portions for himself and give most of his food to the exhausted or child workers so they wouldn't starve any more than they were forced to . Even though they were the only people, he ever talked to he would usually only mutter one word to them, "Eat ."

Even though he was younger than half of the workers, Ulrich took it upon himself to protect and look after them. One day there was an accident, no one knew what caused it, but part of the mine had caved in trapping dozens of miners and a few Schnee workers. No one would enter the mine again, too afraid of the possibility of another cave-in instead, Ulrich went back in alone and with his large hands began digging the trapped people out. Eventually, he freed them all and carried some back outside. He was considered a hero by the other miners even some of the Schnee workers congratulated his actions, but the corrupt overseer hated him.

The overseer blamed the cave in on Ulrich and used it as an excuse to get rid of him, knowing that his absence would cause the remaining miners to become miserable again. He sold Ulrich to a crime boss who was looking for a potential bodyguard for her son, and Ulrich was forced to leave without getting to see anyone. Ulrich was soon introduced to his new employer a human boy the same age as himself.

With a smile that reminded him of the people he was forced to leave behind the human boy walked up to him and held out his hand to introduce himself, "I'm Sin" he said, "What's your name?"

Taken by surprise at the boy's apparent friendly approach Ulrich told him his name and shook his hand, but when his massive hand wrapped around Sin's the human seemed surprised by it.

"That is a powerful grip you've got there," he said, "A strong, big guy like you. Mind if I give you a nickname?" he asked, "I'm thinking something that sounds tough, maybe…Brick ."

The burly Faunus lowered his hand, and a soft grunt rumbled in his throat which the human took as an approval. Ulrich's initial assumption upon hearing he would be working for a criminal's son was that the boy would be as bad as the overseer, but he was surprised time and again by how friendly he turned out to be. Over the course of the next year, Ulrich finally got used to the nickname Brick had become close friends with Sin and even came to trust him.

* * *

Sin Saber. Human.

Born is Mistral his mother a crime boss and his father an underground fighter, Sin grew up learning the ways of the street and the laws of the criminal underworld. Always treated with respect by those who feared his parents and their gang Sin had it easy for many of his early years, getting anything he wanted. Until the week after he turned ten.

Sin's carefree days ended and his father began teaching him to fight from that day forward. Brutal from the start Sin soon realized that he would have to learn fast or risk permanent serious injuries. Between his father and his associates Sin spent the next five years training, always being pushed harder and further until he collapsed, only to be dragged to his feet and forced to keep going and after five years Sin was put into his first fight.

Sin almost didn't survive, his opponent someone six years older and over a foot taller than him nearly beat him to death, but it was through this that he unlocked a power within him and discovered his Aura. When his Aura manifested itself, Sin was able to throw one last punch catching his opponent off guard and knocking him out for the referee's count. Amazed by their son's newfound power his parents reveled in the possibilities it would bring them.

His mother reached out to some of her contacts to find someone she could hire to teach her son how to utilize and control his new Aura since both her and his father lacked an Aura of their own. Sin would spend the few months training under other criminals that would teach him how to use his Aura and through some study of his own and after seven months he found his Semblance. With another ability available to him Sin's parents put him in another fight again against a seemingly stronger opponent, but with his Aura and Semblance, Sin made short work of him.

Before his first fight Sin's mother bought a Faunus worker from a corrupt Schnee mining foreman, a large boy the same age as her son, but much bigger. At age fifteen he stood at six feet tall and weighed just over two hundred pounds. She intended for the burly Faunus to be her son's bodyguard however despite the intended relationship Sin and his bodyguard became inseparable friends.

Not long after his second fight Sin had grown to hate the life he had grown up with, despising the criminal underworld and the way they operated, so one night he and his Faunus friend fled and stowed away on a ship heading for Vacuo.

* * *

Alena Teysa. Fox Faunus.

Alena like her little sister Rhia grew up in Atlas under the "protection" of a branch of the Schnee Dust Company who in return for giving them free shelter made them work for them. The entire labor force were Faunus, those who were old enough to be considered adults worked in the dust mines while the younger ones were given different tasks based on their age. While her parents worked in the mines, Alena and Rhia worked as maids for the Branch Manager.

When her little sister was born, Alena's parents told her it would be her job to look after and protect should anything ever happen to them. She was only two years older than Rhia still a baby herself, but Alena understood what her parents were saying to her. Since childhood Alena was never far from Rhia even when they started working for the Branch Manager, she was always close by ready to help her with anything , her dear, beautiful baby sister.

As they grew and Alena saw how depressed her sister was becoming she did everything she could to cheer her up, no matter how little it was as long as she got to see Rhia smile that was all that mattered, even if it was just for a second. Despite only having a primary education while growing up Alena proved to be exceptionally intelligent and observant, noticing even minor differences in a room from the last time she was in it. Though this made her skilled at cleaning, it often led to the supervisors reprimanding Rhia for not being as good as her kin.

The continual insults and racial discrimination filled Alena with nothing, but anger and hate toward the humans that pushed them around and she hated them, even more, when she realized that her innocent little sister was starting to hate them as well. Her sister was too beautiful to be filled with hate, and as much as she tried Alena knew she wouldn't be able to get rid of that hate her sister was beginning to harbor, all she could do was try to protect her against it. Some nights she would wake to the sound of Rhia crying and she would leave her sleeping bag and crawl into Rhia's and embrace her sister, letting her cry into her shoulder until she fell asleep and continue to hold onto her until morning.

The worst day was when Rhia turned thirteen, one of the foremen got drunk and stumbled into his office before the two sisters were finished cleaning. In his stupor, he knocked over a porcelain vase that fell on his bare foot before shattering which caused Rhia to yelp and fall backward in surprise. The drunk foreman became angry and blamed Rhia for breaking the vase and raised his hand to hit her, but Alena tackled him and pinned him against the wall before grabbing him by the throat. Her fingernails hooked into his neck pressing against his skin like needles as she looked into his drunken eyes.

She growled at him, "I don't care how powerful or connected you think you are. I don't care what the reason or consequence is. If you ever raise a hand to my sister again, I will rip your spine out and impale you with it."

Alena finished working alone that night keeping Rhia within arm's reach in case any of the other humans tried anything. When the night ended, and they could go home, they thought that would be the end of their horrible day, but it only got worse when they returned home. Their mother had collapsed from exhaustion, and without proper help or care from the supervisors or the branch manager she became sick and died. Alena kept Rhia close that night as she cried into her shoulder, holding her sister tighter than she ever had as her rage and hate toward the humans seethed.

A few days after their mother died the mines and the notorious White Fang attacked the nearby facilities. Using the chaos as a distraction their father rushed Alena and Rhia to the nearby transport station and begged the White Fang members to take his family with them. He ushered his daughters onto the train car before a squad of guards rushed in to try and stop the White Fang only to gun down their father as he tried to protect them. Alena covered Rhia's eyes and closed her own unable to watch as the train began moving and they escaped.

During their travel deeper into Atlas, Rhia had fallen asleep from the exhaustion, and Alena thanked the White Fang for saving them. The member she spoke to apologized for her father's death before encouraging her to rest and leaving to see to his duties. Try as she might, however, Alena couldn't sleep, after gently setting Rhia down she got up to walk around the car they were in, and it was then that she heard the White Fang members celebrating and bragging about what they had done. Not just destroying the facility freeing the workers and stealing a large shipment, but they were celebrating the murder of most the Schnee workers.

Alena held nothing, but hate toward the humans that mistreated her family and honestly she was glad most of them were dead, but when she heard the White Fang members discussing the new potential recruits they had picked up she knew her and Rhia would have to run. No matter how much she hated humans, no matter how much she desired revenge for her suffering she would not allow her sister to be exposed to these people and their hate.

The first chance she got, Alena grabbed Rhia and fled from the White Fang that had rescued them, stowing away on a boat not knowing where they were going and it didn't matter. As long as her sister was safe, that's all that mattered, her dear, beautiful, baby sister.

* * *

A/N. So, not really a chapter, but more of the background of each character I will be introducing. I kind of wanted to do it in a similar fashion to the character trailers when RWBY was first coming out and ended up with this. That being said I hope it will be enjoyable to those that read it.


	2. Arrival

The horn of the ship bellowed as the great barge approached the harbor. Two young men stepped out onto the ship's deck alongside the ship's captain and shielded their eyes from the intense sunlight. They had finally arrived in Vacuo. The shorter of the two young men stopped at the railing of the ship and looked down at the docks, beyond the port, and the warehouses were few roads and an expansive desert.

"Well we made it," he said, "I knew it would be hot, but not this bad" he looked back to his companion, a burly seven-foot tall individual, "Well Brick what do you think?"

The larger young man stepped over to his friend and scanned their surroundings before looking down to him and quietly nodding.

"Yeah me too" the shorter boy replied turning back to the captain, "Thank you, Captain," he said handing the Captain a small case filled with money, "I threw in a bit extra for the food and all ."

"My pleasure," the Captain said, "Never had stowaways buy their way onto one of my ships before. Well, you two enjoy your stay in Vacuo ."

The two boys nodded and got off the ship before the rest of the crew spotted them, "This place is different from Mistral" the shorter one said to which his burly companion nodded with a grunt.

"What should we do first?" the shorter one asked, "Learn the lay of the land, start looking for work? What do you think?"

His companion silently raised his arm and pointed to a merchant who was counting his wares. His smaller friend agreed, and the two approached him. The shorter of the two young men called out to the dealer and introduced himself.

"My name is Sin," he said before nodding to his large friend, "This is Brick . We're new to Vacuo and were hoping you could direct us to some places of interest."

"That depends on what you're looking for," the merchant told him setting his log down, "The docks here are mostly just warehouses, there are a few places to eat, but nothing too fancy. There is a bus that will take you into the city that's where you'll find all the main attractions."

"Well we were thinking of staying here for a while, know any place that's looking for workers?"

The merchant looked up at Brick, "Well your friend here looks pretty strong, I think he could easily get a job here at the docks" he noticed Brick's rounded ears at the top of his head, "Oh you're a Faunus?"

Sin asked, "That's not a problem is it?"

"Not at all" the merchant replied, "You won't find much discrimination here in Vacuo. There aren't many laws out here, but there is one rule that everyone believes in. If you can survive here, then you are welcome here. And you're friend here looks like he could survive a lot."

"He's pretty tough," Sin said, "Well thanks for your help we won't keep you any longer."

"Good luck boys," the merchant said as they walked away.

Sin and Brick continued walking around for a while trying to become familiar with the area before moving on. The merchant wasn't kidding almost every single building around was a warehouse of some kind with only a few diners and a hotel that they could barely see in the heat distorted distance. Sin wiped his forehead and looked up at the sky, the sun was beating down on them, and they hadn't even been there an hour yet. Glancing up at Brick he noticed that while the mountain of a man was sweating, he didn't seem bothered by it. Sin looked down at his clothes he saw sweat stains seeping through the expensive fabric.

"No idea why I wore a suit out here" he complained, taking off the navy blue jacket and slinging it over his shoulder, "Going to have to find some more appropriate clothing."

Brick tapped a large finger on his shoulder and pointed to the road. A bus was waiting as passengers boarded from one side and departed from another.

"Into the city, it is" Sin agreed, "Well let's go."

Stepping onto the bus Sin paid the fee and smirked back at Brick who had to hunch down and turn sideways to fit through the door. The massive Faunus shuffled his way to the back of the bus where there was room and stood with his hands holding onto the luggage railing as Sin sat next to him and yawned telling Brick to wake him when they arrive. Brick watched as Sin closed his eyes and quickly dozed off before the bus started moving.

In Vacuo's merchant district swarms of the population were moving between stores and merchant stalls looking at wares and other products before going about their daily lives. On the third floor balcony of a hotel, two girls were looking down at the sea of people. A pair of Faunus girls with fox ears at the top of their heads and reddish-brown hair each of them eating from a basket of fruit.

"Another noisy day," one of them said, "Merchant district or not it wouldn't kill them to be a little quieter."

She wore a harlequin green bolero jacket with short open mouthed sleeves and gold trimmings over a white tube top and a harlequin green one legged skirt that stopped halfway down her right calf and a red sash across her waist.

"It's no big deal Alena," the shorter Faunus said, "You just have to get used to it."

She wore a blue trimmed white bolero top over a matching short camisole and white short culottes with slits in the sides running up to her hips. A teal rope sash wrapped around her waist and was held in place by a buckle with the kingdom's symbol on it.

"It's bad to me" the one called Alena replied irritably, "Talking so loud that we can hear them from up here."

The shorter one giggled, "Oh my poor big sister, the noise is too much for her."

Alena turned around to go back inside, "Let's go inside Rhia."

"Alright" the little sister agreed following her inside, "You know we're going to have to go down there at some point today right? We need food."

"I know" Alena sighed, "I just down want to go out right now. There are too many people, too much noise."

"At least we don't have to work today," Rhia muttered sitting at the edge of the bed as her older sister laid on her side.

"It won't be much longer Rhia," Alena said as she closed her eyes, "Another few months and we'll have enough saved up to get out of here."

Rhia turned her eyes to the floor, "What do you think Menagerie is like?"

"Filled with our people," Alena softly replied, "No humans, a place we can live in peace."

"It's peaceful here," Rhia said turning to her, "Well, minus the noise and occasional grimm sightings."

"It will be better in Menagerie," Alena told her, "You'll see when we get there."

"I hope you're right" Rhia whispered lying down as well and closed her eyes.

Sin yawned loudly as he stepped off the bus with Brick right behind him, "Alright first find some clothes that breath, next food, then somewhere to sleep. Tomorrow we'll look for some work."

Brick didn't say anything as he turned and started walking through the merchant district with Sin following close behind him. The sea of people made it difficult for the two to navigate, especially the seven foot tall Faunus, but once they found the direction most people were moving in they managed to get through the crowd and find a store selling clothing. Walking inside Sin yawned again and rubbed his eyes as Brick crouched down to fit through the door.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" the shopkeeper asked.

Sin forced a tired smile at him and answered, "Yes, my friend and I just arrived and we're looking for some more appropriate clothing for the local weather."

The shopkeeper noticed their suits, "Yes I can see, the two of you aren't from around here. I'm sure I have something for you young man, but you're friend there I fear I may not have anything in his size."

"Are there any tailors in town?" Sin asked him.

"Oh, my wife is a tailor" the shopkeeper replied, "She could make something for him, but it would take a while ."

"Well if you've got the time we've got the money," Sin told him, " Any chance she could do it today?"

The shopkeeper nodded, "Oh, of course, it's been a few days since she last had any orders, let me just get his measurements while you try some things on ."

Sin thanked him and went to try some clothes on, as much as he liked his suit wearing it in the harsh climate of Vacuo would kill him faster than any creature of Grimm ever could. The shopkeeper advised what kind of clothing would help Sin get used to the weather best. Most of the clothing Sin tried on was too colorful, while he appreciated the high-quality fabric the colors and patterns just weren't just style, he preferred something simplistic.

"Got anything more basic?" Sin asked the shop keep, "All these colors aren't my style."

"There are some single color shirts in the back corner over there" he answered as he finished taking Brick's measurements, "Alright, that's everything, now what kind of clothing would you like Sonny?"

Brick growled quietly as he looked around at the racks filled with clothes.

"Brick doesn't talk much," Sin told the shopkeeper as he tried on a sleeveless a sleeveless white leather jacket and blue pants, "This will work. The leather is pretty light, and it feels nice ."

"Very well and what of your friend?"

Sin walked over to Brick, "Seriously buddy you got to feel this" he waited for Brick to run his finger over the leather feeling the smooth texture and the giant Faunus nodded.

"Leather like this, in brown if you have it. Russet-brown to match his hair."

The shopkeeper nodded, "Alright then, I'll take these measurements to my wife, and we'll get started we should have it ready by the end of the day ."

Sin paid for his clothes and the two of them left the shop to find somewhere to eat. Most of the people were finishing their business and beginning to head home leaving the street more open than it was when they arrived. After asking for directions Sin and Brick finally found a hotel and went inside to see if they had any rooms available for a few days.

"We'll need a room with two beds, kings of course," Sin said casting a quick smirk at Brick who stood as silent as ever to the side.

"We do have one such room available on the third floor," the clerk told him, "How long will you be staying?"

Sin answered, "Not sure. We just arrived in Vacuo today and don't know how long we'll be staying."

"I see, well, in that case, I can either put you down for a daily charge or weekly until you've figured out what you'll be doing."

"Weekly works best," Sin told him, "How much for the first week?"

"At our daily rate, it will come out to, six hundred and fifty lien."

"Done" Sin agreed handing the clerk a few cards and taking the room key, "Alright, now final question, does your establishment have a place to eat?"

"We do have a kitchen and bar area here on the ground floor on the other side. We offer free breakfast to our guests, but lunch and dinner will orders will incur a charge that can either applied to your room bill or paid on the spot."

Sin nodded, "Good to know thank you" he turned to Brick, "Well let's go see the room."

After seeing their room and setting down what little luggage they had with them Sin and Brick returned to the ground floor and headed to the bar area to order some food. Of course, they were too young to drink so they couldn't sit at the bar and all of the chairs were far too small for Brick to sit in so after ordering their dinner the two of them walked outside to the hotel's gazebo to wait. The sun had started to set, and the air was starting to cool.

"Be honest with me Brick" Sin began, "Do you think leaving Mistral was a good idea?"

Brick looked over at him and nodded.

"I know we had it made there, but I just couldn't take it anymore. Between mom's 'legit' business deals and dad's fights I just couldn't put up with life there anymore".

Brick's mouth open, but before he could speak the sound of someone else talking distracted him. The two of them looked across the courtyard. Two girls were sitting on the bench there one dressed in green the other in white. As the two girls were talking to each other Sin glanced at Brick and grinned, but Brick shook his head.

"Oh, I'm going for it" Sin chuckled as he stood up, "Wait here big guy," he said.

As he started walking over to the bench one of the girls, the one in green had gone back inside leaving the one in white left. As Sin got closer, he saw that the girl had fox ears poking through her hair, a Faunus.

"Hello there," he said calmly.

The girl jumped a little in surprise and turned around to see who was talking to her.

"Sorry to startle you," Sin said, "My name is Sin, I'm new to Vacuo."

The Faunus girl hesitated, "I'm Rhia."

"That's a nice name," Sin said, "Have you been in Vacuo long?"

"A little over a year" she answered.

"Any chance you could show me around?" Sin asked.

Rhia hesitated again, "I don't think I would be the best tour guide."

"Well, maybe you can just show me to some restaurants," Sin said his tone was becoming smooth, "Then I can buy you dinner."

The Faunus girl stammered a little as her cheeks changed color and she looked away, "Um I…well I mean…"

Before she could answer the other girl returned, "Rhia is everything ok?"

"Yes," Rhia replied standing up and looking at the other girl.

"Who are you?" the other girl asked Sin.

Sin held his hand out, "I'm Sin, my friend and I are new to Vacuo, I was wondering if the two of you could show us around."

Before the girl could answer screaming reached their ears from the street, "Grimm" someone yelled.

Sin lowered his hand and sighed, "Sorry ladies hopefully we can continue this later. Please excuse me" he turned toward the gazebo and yelled for Brick as he ran and jumped over the courtyard railing.

The two girls watched as a large man in the gazebo stood up and followed Sin into the streets where the people were fleeing.

Rhia looked up to her sister, "Should we help?"

Alena nodded, "We won't fight, but we'll try to keep everyone safe."


	3. Unity

The screams of the fleeing citizens echoed through the streets, Grimm had attacked. This was not an uncommon occurrence in Vacuo, but to attack at this time of day when most people were heading home and outside caused a quick panic. The calls of the Grimm only added to the sense of fear amongst the people as the monsters made their way into the city.

"Death Stalker!" someone had yelled followed by a shrill hissing sound.

Sin and Brick tried to push their way through the waves of fleeing people, an easy task for the seven-foot Faunus, but Sin struggled just not to be caught up and carried away by the frightened citizens. Trying to shove his way past them, Sin yelled for them to get out of his way only to get caught again. Thankfully Brick grabbed hold of him and pulled him close.

"Thanks, human shield" Sin breathed once he was safe, "Or should I say Faunus shield? Or does that just sound a bit racist?"

Brick didn't answer as he began pushing his way through the crowd with Sin staying close behind him to avoid the crowd, eventually making it through and seeing the massive Grimm approaching their position.

"So that's a Death Stalker," Sin said seeing the size of the monster, "It's all yours buddy," he said patting Brick's arm.

Brick nodded and started walking toward the Death Stalker as a howling sound reached their ears. Looking at the roof of a shop Sin saw a Beowolf jump down and look at Brick who was starting to pick up speed.

Sin nodded, "That's most my speed."

Throwing a rock at the Beowolf's head Sin got its attention and planted his feet as he raised his fists as the monster growled at him.

"Oh, Grimmy what big teeth you have" Sin mocked as the monster ran towards him.

The Beowolf lunged at him its clawed arm raised, snarling and ready to kill its prey.

"Nope" Sin said jumping to the side avoiding the claws.

Feeling the breeze as the Grimm's claw swiped by him Sin clenched his fist and with his back foot planted twisted his body forward slamming his fist against the Grimm's chest releasing a burst of his Aura as he struck causing the monster to stumble back. Stepping forward he ducked under the beast's arm and jumped up hitting the creature's jaw, using his Aura to attack and stunning the Beowolf once more. Sin pushed his attack hitting with his right hand, followed by his left and then his right again before he ducked to the side and jumped landing a left hook against the Beowolf's head catching it in the eye.

The monster howled and swung wildly forcing Sin to back away until it stopped. Keeping his fists up Sin watched the mindless creature slow and turn back to him still snarling once again setting his weight to his back foot. The Beowolf lunged again and swiped and again. Sin dodged.

Stepping toward its swinging arm Sin ducked under its claws and landed a trio of blows against its side, what he assumed to be its ribcage before sidestepping around it to avoid its backswing. Now behind the creature, he struck again, four hits before stepping to the side once again. He continued to circle the beast and attack, his blows getting faster with each hit before he jumped and brought his fist down on the Grimm's snout sending the monster face first into the ground. Standing over the creature he inhaled and brought his fist down one last time unleashing his Aura and shattering the monster's head for the killing blow.

The Death Stalker hissed and raised its claw. Brick roared as he intercepted the monster ramming headfirst into it and shielding himself with his Aura and grappling the pincers at its mouth. The bear Faunus grunted and growled as he held the giant monster at bay, its claws unable to reach him. Wrapping his goliath hands around its mandibles, he roared again as he twisted his wrists snapping the jaws from its mouth and raising them above his head, before driving them down into its eyes.

The Death Stalker screeched as two of its eyes were pierced, its pincers flailing about as it backed away from the being that harmed it. Brick backed away to a safe distance to catch his breath as he observed his enemy two of its ten eyes blinded. The surrounding walls were damaged from the monster's wild swinging, Brick took another step back and risked a glance over his shoulder to see how Sin was faring against the Beowolf. His human friend was circling the monster and striking with a flurry of blows that seemed to stun the Grimm before he finally jumped and delivered one final blow that sent it into the ground.

The seven-foot Faunus turned back to the Death Stalker which had stopped flailing and set its focus back on him. Preparing himself, Brick waited for the Grimm to attack again as Sin joined him.

"That thing looks pissed" Sin noted, "Well I know a good remedy for that, let's put it to bed."

Brick grabbed Sin's shoulder and pointed toward the building the Death Stalker had damaged. On the second floor where the wall was destroyed was a girl hanging from the collapsing floor, and a woman reaching out trying to help her. The girl was screaming as she held on, her cries, her fear attracting the attention of the wounded Grimm under her. Brick and Sin watched as it raised one of its claws to snatch her.

"Brick throw me" Sin yelled grabbing his friend's hand.

Brick tightened his grip on Sin's hands and began turning in a circle, once, twice and on the third turn threw Sin toward the Grimm and the girl hanging above it. Sin reached out his arms as he was flung through the air, wrapping them around the suspended girl as he reached her and pulled her in tight against his chest, wrapping his Aura around both of them to brace for his impact against the collapsing wall. Slamming into the wall Sin clenched his teeth suppressing his pain, and they fell to the ground, still holding the girl tight against his chest he tucked his legs in as much as he could and tried to roll when they landed. Standing up Sin saw Brick throwing chunks of debris at the Death Stalker distracting it and giving Sin time to get the girl to safety.

He looked back up to the woman that was trying to help the girl, "I'll take care of her, get to safety" he yelled before running back toward Brick, "Alright now what?" he asked, "We can't fight and protect this kid at the same time."

Brick turned and pointed down the street to where the people had fled.

Sin looked up to him, understanding the gesture, "You better not die" he said looking down to the girl in his arms and seeing her long ears, she was another Faunus, "I'm going to get you somewhere safe ok?" he asked her and waiting for her frightened nod.

Telling the girl to cover her head and hold on to him tight he tucked her against his bare chest again and began running only to stop as the shop on his right crumbled to the ground as another Death Stalker charged through it followed by a pack of five Beowolves. Sin swore, but his words were deafened by the collective cries of the Grimm in front of him. He held the Faunus girl even closer to him and took a step back before looking over his shoulder. Brick was attacking the injured Death Stalker again. He looked back to the pack of Grimm in front of him, he couldn't fight and protect the girl at the same time he had to run, but if he did and the Grimm didn't chase him then they would attack Brick and Sin couldn't leave him to fight alone against this many.

The Grimm started advancing on him, and he didn't have a choice, he would have to set the girl down and tell her to run and try to stop the Grimm from chasing her. He doubted he could take on this many, even with Brick helping him if their enemies were people it wouldn't be a problem the two of them had faced similar situations against human foes, but these monsters would tear them apart. Kneeling down he loosened his arms and set the girl down, but before he could tell her to run several gunshots echoed above them and the pack of Grimm halted their advance. Two people jumped down and stood in front of Sin and the girl.

It was the two Faunus girls Sin had spoken to before the Grimm attacked. The two ran to the dark skinned man's side weapons in hands. The one in green was wielding a trident, with a curved glaive like blade at the other end of the shaft. The one in white, Rhia she said her name was had a pair of tonfa in her hands and a short barrel rifle strapped to her right leg.

Sin didn't have time to form a word before Brick landed near them, his weight causing a slight tremor as he hit the ground. Sin turned and grabbed his friend's shoulder as he sat up and groaned, his clothes were ripped and the Death Stalker he was fighting hissed its terrible sound before approaching them again. Sin set the girl down in the middle of him, Brick and the two girls and turned to face the injured Death Stalker.

"Well if we're going to die, might as well take as many as we can with us," he said raising his fists once again.

"No one is going to die" the girl in green said, "Just stay focused and work together".

"You see you say that" Sin began with a smirk, "But I still think the odds are in their favor" he chuckled before glancing back at the girl in white, "Rhia right? Mind if I borrow your spare?"

Rhia nodded and handed him the rifle she had strapped to her leg.

Sin took the short barrel rifle and took aim at the Death Stalker, "What do you say, Brick, shall we show them how us Mistral punks do things?"

Brick rolled his shoulders back before slamming his fist into his open hand.

"I couldn't agree more," Sin said, "Alright, let's go" he yelled breaking into a run toward the wounded Death Stalker and firing the rifle he took from Rhia.

Brick kneeled down and tapped the little Faunus girl on her shoulder and pointed to a nearby store motioning for her to hide while they fought the Grimm. After the girl disappeared into the store Brick stood turned his head until his neck cracked before he charged back into battle. Behind him, the two Faunus girls began fighting against the pack of Beowolves and the other Death Stalker.

"Avoid the Death Stalker for now" the one in green yelled, "Focus on the Beowolves."

"OK" Rhia replied jumping to the side to avoid one of the Beowolves.

After dodging the Grimm's attack, she raised her left arm in an angled uppercut and turned the tonfa around in her hand causing the hardened pole to smack across the monster's head. Once her first attack hit, she turned her torso and struck with the other tonfa making a flurry of blows before turning them around in her hands and jabbing the ends of them against the Beowolf's gut and pulling the triggers in the grip. The two gunshots stunned the monster making it hunch over, and Rhia jumped off its shoulder and brought one of her tonfas down on its head before turning her other around and shooting at the Beowolf behind her.

Off to the side, her sister stood in the middle of the other three Beowolves holding her weapon at the ready as they circled her. The one behind her snarled and lunged its arm raised, but Alena turned on her heel and swung the back end of her weapon cutting off the monster's arm in mid-lunge before she pivoted back the other way turning her weapon and stabbing the trident end in its chest. Twisting the glaive end, she detached the curved blade and turned back around leaving the trident impaled in the Beowolf and with a single swing cut its head off.

"Come on" Sin yelled taunting the wounded Death Stalker as he ducked and jumped back avoiding its attacks only for Brick to run in and attack it.

The injured Grimm shrieked and swiped at them with its pincer, but Brick planted his feet and grabbed hold of the giant claw sliding back a few feet before he stopped it and tried to keep his grip. Sin ran in behind him and raised the rifle taking aim at the monster's eyes and firing scoring a hit on one causing the Death Stalker to flail and back away again. Sin noticed that even with the monster wounded they weren't going to be able to hold it off much longer, they needed a way to put it down. Seeing the mandibles Brick stabbed into its eyes, he had an idea.

"Brick," he said as they backed away from the Death Stalker, "Its stinger. If we can find a way to cut it off, you think you could drive it into that thing?"

Brick growled and nodded.

"Alright then, just hold it off for a little bit longer," Sin said before turning around and running toward the two Faunus girls.

Rhia spun to the side and leaped over the Beowolf landing on its shoulders and striking her tonfa against both sides of its head before jumping off. After she jumped off Alena rushed in behind her and drove the glaive end of her trident into the Beowolf's back. Vaulting over it and twisting the trident's shaft to detach the glaive end, she landed in front of the Beowolf and jabbed the trident end of her weapon into the monster's snarling mouth. Pulling the trigger in the middle, the three prongs of the trident slid together and fired, the three shots blasting their way into the Beowolf's skull killing it.

"Hey" Sin called sliding to a stop next to them, "You" he pointed at Alena, "Switch with me, go help Brick."

"Why?" she asked harshly.

"I can't do anything against that thing" Sin panted, "If you can cut its stinger off then Brick can use it and hopefully finish it off. I can help her deal with the last two Beowolves. Then we can team up against the last one".

Rhia looked to her sister, "Go I've got this."

Alena nodded to her and ran to assist Brick, leaving Sin with Rhia.

"Here" Sin said handing Rhia her rifle back, "Thanks for the loan, but I'm no good with it."

Rhia turned to him as the last two Beowolves flanked them, "Do you have another weapon?"

"You could say that" Sin answered, "Though I doubt I'm going to last much longer."

Cracking his knuckles Sin set himself in his fighting stance and waited for the Beowolf to lunge at him. Sin stepped forward and jumped to intercept the lunging monster, his fist flying forward just before they met nailing the Grimm in the side of its head, Sin's Aura exploding on impact sending the monster to the ground. Pressing his attack Sin landed an uppercut followed by a left hook then a right hook then a left jab his punches coming faster and faster with each hit.

"Not bad," Rhia said keeping the other Beowolf in her peripheral.

The Beowolf charged her, and she jumped back swinging her right arm out, her tonfa finding its mark on the side of the Beowolf's head stunning it. Spinning around the Grimm, she aimed the barrels of her tonfa at the back of the monster's knee and fired, the two shots piercing through its joint breaking it. Falling to one knee, the Beowolf turned swinging its clawed hand at the Faunus that crippled it. Rhia back-flipped over the Beowolf drawing her short rifle and combining it with her right tonfa, when she landed she aimed the double-barreled weapon at the Grimm's other knee and fired shattering it. Adding her other tonfa to the weapon, she pointed at the monster's head and fired the triple barreled gun, blowing the monster's head off.

"Watch its pincer" Alena yelled jumping back from the wounded Death Stalker.

Brick charged forward once again intercepting the claw of the Grimm and struggling to hold the massive monster. Alena watched, impressed by the burly Faunus' strength, and realized what the human Sin was saying. She looked up to the Death Stalker's stinger, if she could cut it off, then the Faunus fighting by her side could use his power to drive the stinger into the Grimm's body hopefully killing it.

"Get it to face the store" Alena yelled backing away some more.

She watched Brick throw the pincer back and charge forward and rear his fist back punching one of the mandible's he impaled in its eyes, driving it even deeper. The Death Stalker shrieked and backed away giving Brick room to make it turn, once the Grimm was facing the store Alena looked up and aimed her trident at the spot near the destroyed wall where its tail and stinger were. Detaching the glaive end of her blade, she pulled the second trigger on the weapon's shaft and the trident end launched out toward the wall piercing into it. The anchored trident began reeling Alena toward it, holding her blade out the Faunus slashed at the Grimm's stinger as she passed it, but didn't get it all the way. Planting her feet against the wall, she unhooked her trident and kicked off slashing at the stinger again, this time severing it as she flew by.

"Finish it off" she yelled to Brick as the Death Stalker backed into the damaged building once again shrieking in pain.

Brick grabbed the severed stinger and charged toward the Death Stalker and jumped with a booming roar and drove the stinger into the monster's head. Landing on the Grimm's head Brick locked his fists together and raised them above his head before bringing them down on the stinger, the ax handle blow driving the stinger even further in. Raising his fists again he brought them down, and Alena watched as the final blow sent the monster's limb in far enough to be a fatal blow and the Death Stalker evaporated into a black mist.

"As far as brute strength goes, I've seen worse," she thought giving Brick a nod before running to help her sister.

With the Beowolves dead Sin and Rhia turned to face down the Death Stalker, slowly backing away as it advanced on its exhausted prey.

"Any ideas?" Sin gasped, "Because I'm running on fumes here."

"Just hold on," Rhia told him, "This is the last one."

"Oh, joy" Sin gasped again.

"Rhia" Alena yelled sliding to a stop next to her sister, "Are you ok?"

"I'm all right," Rhia told her, "He's a pretty decent fighter."

"So is the big one" Alena replied as Brick walked over to them and patted Sin's back.

"Alright, all together," Rhia said, "Hit it with everything we've got."

Brick charged in first with Sin right behind him while Rhia and Alena moved to flank. Brick rammed directly into the monster's pincer grabbing hold of it while Sin ran up and jumped off his back rearing his fist back before coming down on top of the Death Stalker and with one last flurry of Aura filled blows attacked the Grimm's eyes. Rhia following suit jumped onto the Death Stalker's pincer and then its head using her triple-barreled shotgun to assist Sin's assault. Meanwhile, Alena had grappled high up the side of the building and with her glaive in hand dived down and with gravity's help cut through Death Stalker's exoskeleton severing the pincer Brick was restraining.

"Here" Alena yelled tossing the glaive to Brick as the Death Stalker flailed around shaking Sin and Rhia off.

Catching the glaive Brick grabbed hold of the other pincer and a single mighty swing cut it off.

"Brick launch me" Sin yelled running over to his friend.

Brick dropped the glaive and cupped his hands waiting for Sin to step onto them before using all of his strength to launch his friend straight up into the air. Spreading his arms Sin slowly flipped around in the air, he could see everything from this high up. People were watching them this entire time wondering, praying for their victory. He smirked, not because of them, but because of the cold breeze he felt, the air felt nice up there, just right for a nap.

"This is all I've got left" he whispered to himself, "Better make it count."

He began falling, headfirst back toward the Death Stalker, Brick had already grabbed the two Faunus girls and moved them back a safe distance fully predicting what his partner was thinking. Closing his eyes Sin inhaled a deep breath and tightened his fist before pulling it back. Feeling the wind rushing by him, he opened his eyes and with a battle cry threw his hand out as he crashed into the Death Stalker's head using the last of his Aura to release a shockwave. The shockwave kicked up a curtain of dust that concealed both Sin and the Death Stalker though they could hear the latter emitting what sounded like a death cry before everything went silent.

As the dust began settling the three Faunus watched Sin stumbled over to them covered in dirt, "Please tell me it's dead" he said exhausted.

The three of them watched the black mist of the Grimm's corpse evaporate into the air, "Yeah it's pretty dead" Rhia told him.

"Awesome" Sin replied his body was beginning to sway, "Now if you'll excuse me."

He fell backward his back hitting the dusty ground with a dull thud his eyes closed. Light snores escaped his mouth every time his chest rose and fell, and the two Faunus girls looked at each other.

"He fell asleep?" Alena asked.

Brick nodded at each of them before giving them a friendly smile and a thumbs up.


	4. Beauty and the Forge

The light from the morning sun reached in through the window, casting its scope across the room. Brick was already awake and dressed waiting for the two Faunus girls that helped him and Sin fight off the Grimm to arrive. Sin was still asleep; he had been since the battle ended. Usually Brick would wait silently for Sin to wake up, but today they were supposed to meet with the two girls that helped them.

He poked Sin's side, his large finger strong enough to push his friend, but Sin just turned over and inched away from him. A small grunt filled Brick's throat as he watched Sin inch closer to the edge and away from him, he grabbed the blanket and pulled it away as someone knocked on their door. Sin still asleep pulled the blanket back over him as Brick released it to answer the door, as he thought it was the two girls from yesterday.

"It was Brick right?" the short one wearing white asked.

Brick nodded quietly, stepping to the side to invite them in.

"Thank you again for your help yesterday" the short one continued, stopping when she saw Sin still asleep, "Oh, um, we can come back if he's still tired."

"He's had plenty of time to sleep," the other girl said, "It's been fourteen hours."

"Alena, don't be rude," the shorter one told her, "They helped us."

Brick raised his finger to them gesturing them to wait for a moment as he walked to the other side of Sin's bed. Brick nudged the mattress with his foot and Sin shot up muttering in his sleep before falling back again. Shaking his head, the bear Faunus waved his hand motioning for the two girls to step back as he reached down and grabbed the bottom of the bed's frame, lifting the bed up the three Faunus watched as Sin tumbled out of it with a yell.

"Alright I'm awake," Sin shouted turning over onto his side and looking up to see the two Faunus girls staring at him, "Scratch that Brick. I'm still dreaming."

Alena groaned with disgust at Sin's remark and grin before turning around, "We'll be in the hall. Come get us when this fool gets dressed."

She grabbed the shorter girl's arm and pulled her into the hall with her as Sin got up and stretched his arms, "Those two are kind of cute yeah?" he asked looking at Brick.

Brick turned his gaze to Sin and threw his clothes at him.

Seeing his clothes from yesterday had already been cleaned Sin flashed the giant Faunus a smirk before changing, "Thanks, buddy." He noticed Brick was wearing his new clothes from the tailor they spoke to yesterday, a leather russet-brown jacket with matching pants, though Brick had ripped the sleeves off.

Brick nodded before returning to the door and letting the two girls back into the room.

"Ladies" Sin nodded looking to the shorter one in white, "Morning, Rhia."

The Fox Faunus girl seemed surprised, "You remember my name?"

Sin nodded, "I never forget the name of beautiful ladies like you."

"Oh, I um…well…" Rhia's cheeks turned pink, and she looked away, "This is my big sister, Alena."

"Another name I'll remember" Sin grinned before Brick nudged the back of his shoulder, "Right," he said clearing his throat, "Thank you both for your help yesterday. Brick and I hold no illusion that we would have survived without your assistance."

Sin suddenly remembered about the little girl he saved, "What about that little girl?" he asked Brick, "Is she ok."

Brick smiled and nodded with a grunt.

"So her mom is safe to, that's good" he turned back to the sisters, "So yeah, thanks for your help."

Rhia looked like she was about to say something, but Alena spoke first, "We didn't do it to help you. We would have fought regardless, you being there only meant less work on our part."

"Alena" Rhia gasped, "What she means is, the two of you fought well, and you helped us as much as we helped you. So we also want to say thank you."

"You're welcome then" Sin replied with a slight bow, "I always help the pretty ladies."

Rhia fumbled her words again and looked away when she felt her cheeks heat up, leaving Alena to speak for her, "The two of you aren't from around here are you?"

"No" Sin answered, "We're from Mistral."

Alena eyed him as if sizing him up, "You're style was sloppy, what combat school did you attend?"

"I didn't go to one" Sin admitted, "I was just taught to fight with my hands."

"And use your Aura in combat" Alena noted remembering how Sin fought unarmed against the Grimm.

"I had a special teacher" Sin smirked.

Alena looked over to Brick, "And what about you?"

Brick merely shrugged, "Brick doesn't talk much," Sin told her, "He's one of those strong silent types. Wonderful chap, excellent conversationalist."

Brick lightly punched his arm.

"Ow" Sin gasped, "Brick, a little rough."

Rhia covered her mouth to suppress her chuckle, but when they looked at her she knew they heard her, "Um…Sloppy or not the two of you handled yourselves pretty good. You could enroll at the Desert Mast combat school near here."

Sin scratched his chin apparently considering the suggestion. Sitting at the edge of his bed he asked the two girls to tell him about the school, and what to expect from it. According to them, they would be taught how to fight more efficiently and given the materials and resources needed to forge their weapons. Also, they would also be shown how to use their Aura and even their Semblance better if they had discovered it.

Sin asked Brick what he thought, and the great Faunus shrugged tilting his head to the left, "Why do you always defer the decisions to me?"

After a moment of thought, Sin looked back up to them, "Well I wouldn't mind giving it a shot. Can you show us where it is?"

Rhia nodded, "Of course, we were heading there today for a class and I…we were hoping you would decide to join."

"Speak for yourself" Alena muttered before her little sister jabbed her with her elbow.

Rhia looked back to Sin, "One of the teachers showed up after you passed out he wants to meet you, even if you decide not to enroll he still wants to offer his thanks in person."

Sin's eyes fell to the floor as he thought about the offer, his fingers tracing the length of his jaw. He knew how to fight thanks to his father and his business associates and thanks to his mother's contacts he knew how to use his Aura, but he knew it wasn't good enough. He and Brick fled Mistral before he could learn more about how to use his Aura and his Semblance. Brick was in the same boat, though Brick's way of doing things was different from Sin's, Brick used his raw strength to fight and his Aura only to shield himself while Sin used his Aura entirely for attacking which always made him exhausted.

"Alright" Sin said finally standing up, "Lead the way."

Rhia smiled while her sister rolled her eyes and the two girls led them out of the hotel and to the Desert Mast combat school. It was only a couple of miles outside the city, but thanks to the desert it looked farther away than it was. According to Rhia, it was called the Desert Mast because the headmaster of the school use to be a pirate before becoming a huntsman, tearing apart his ship and using parts of it to build the school as a symbol of his vow. There was a bus that ran from the city to the school, but it was damaged in the Grimm attack leaving most of the students to walk.

"Why put it in the desert?" Sin asked.

"It's part of Vacuo," Rhia told him, "The rule in Vacuo is if you can survive here then you are welcome here. So they built the school in the desert to teach students how to survive better. It is close enough to the city that the teachers can lend a hand in an emergency".

There were many students outside when they arrived, many of them practicing while others relaxed. Sin noticed that a large number of the students and even a few teachers were Faunus. Rhia was telling the truth it looked like; as long as you could survive here, you were welcomed, even if you were a Faunus. Sin glanced back at Brick who seemed to read his partner's thoughts and nodded; Sin never understood why Faunus were treated as inferior to humans. While it was true the only Faunus he knew was Brick, he just never understood the reasoning behind why Faunus were the victims of such discrimination, they looked different, was it that big of an issue?

Once inside, the two sisters continued to lead Sin and Brick through the halls before arriving at the headmaster's office, Rhia seemed to hesitate for a moment before opening the doors and stepping inside. Sin looked around as they stepped inside, two portraits were hanging on opposite walls, the subject of both a woman, on the wall above the door was a ship's wheel and two framed large maps flanked the door on both sides. A large display case in the corner held many nautical instruments furthering Rhia's claim that the headmaster here used to be a sailor, but Sin had yet to see any sign of him being a pirate.

"Ah, the Teysa girls have returned," the headmaster said before turning his chair away from the window to face them, "With guests. The two who helped fight off the Grimm".

A tall sun-tanned man with scars along his arms, he wore a violet tailcoat with red pants and a red tricorne hat. He was almost as tall as Brick when he stood up and grinned at them, a single gold tooth in his smile. Sin and Brick noticed the two scimitar swords at his waist and the missing ring finger on his left hand.

"A pleasure to meet you two," he said stepping around his desk, "One of the other teachers and I had arrived after the battle was over. Rhia and Alena here filled us in on what happened. It seems you and your big friend here are quite the fighters".

Sin shrugged, "We have our moments."

The headmaster laughed, "Tell me, lad, why did the two of you decide to fight those beasties yourselves?"

"I didn't see anyone else stepping up to do it," Sin told him, "And you hunters were taking you sweet time."

Rhia and Alena froze when those words left Sin's lips; no one ever spoke to the headmaster like that before.

The headmaster lowered his head for a second and seemed to grumble before throwing his head back and laughing joyfully, "Lad, you've got some stones to you. Where are the two of you from?"

"Mistral" Sin answered, "I was taught to fight with my hands and use my Aura in combat" he nodded his head back at Brick, "Brick here is just gigantic."

The Headmaster eyed the large Faunus, "And what of you lad? Where did you learn to fight?"

Brick shook his head and looked at Sin, "Brick doesn't talk much" he told the headmaster, "He doesn't know how to fight; he just throws his superior size and weight behind his punches."

The Headmaster grinned again, his gold tooth reflecting the sunlight, "No formal combat training and the two of you managed to hold off the Grimm like that" he turned his back to them, "Promising. Join my school lads, I'll teach you how to fight the creatures of Grimm and how to use your Aura better" he drew one of his scimitars and turned back to them, "And the best part, teach you how to forge your weapons."

Sin looked to Brick, the bear Faunus flashed a smirk at his friend and nodded, "Alright" Sin said turning back to the headmaster, "When do we start?"

The headmaster dismissed Rhia and Alena while he showed them around the school; many of the students were still outside practicing. The headmaster introduced himself as Captain Shamrock, a former pirate before he decided to become a teacher. He showed them his favorite part of the school first, the workshop where the students forge their weapons and after that the training yards.

"Vacuo is a harsh place," he told the two, "There is no formal government here, the only real source of order and authority is the huntsman academy Shade. We have local law enforcement divisions here and there, but most of them are ill-equipped to deal with Grimm attacks, and these deserts are filled with them. That's one reason I decided to build the school out here, close enough to the city to protect it, but far enough out that we can intercept the Grimm first".

"Should they come from this side" Sin pointed out, "The Grimm from yesterday came from the south. We're on the east side of the city".

The headmaster nodded, "We have border defenses, but they are mostly early warnings stations. We have to rebuild them every month or so thankfully the officers posted their survive most of the time".

"So aside from combat what do you teach here?"

"I don't teach anything," Shamrock told him, "I oversee the school's operations. The other teachers, they lead in the primary educations, history, science and such. It doesn't matter how well someone can fight if they don't have the necessary smarts to live a daily life. But since this is a combat school we do focus on combat training with multiple classes and teachers dedicated to each one."

"And the workshop?" Sin continued.

"My former first mate runs the workshop. She'll teach you how to forge weapons and guide you through the process."

"She?" Sin repeated, "A girl?"

Brick sighed as the headmaster looked at Sin, "Is she hot?" Sin asked him.

The headmaster laughed again drawing the attention of some of the other students, "A man after the ladies huh?"

Sin smirked as the headmaster patted him on the back, "She's a bit out of your age range laddie, but feel free to try, though I should warn you; she's as brutal as she is pretty."

"Good" Sin replied, "I like a woman that can kick my ass."

Shamrock laughed even louder, "I like you boy, you remind me of myself when I was a lad."

When the tour of the school finished Shamrock brought Sin and Brick back to the workshop, most of the student had cleared out leaving only a single woman at the back desk staring at a clipboard. She had dark red short wavy hair it; her tanned skin glowed under the light above her. She wore a red tube top that was short enough to only cover her chest with a single black strip running across it, and black shorts with red stripes at the seams.

"What do you want Captain?" she asked without looking up from her desk.

"Two new students I wanted to introduce you to," he told her, "Sin, Brick this is my first mate and special lady friend Crimson."

The woman looked up from her desk, "You're the two that fought those Grimm yesterday."

Sin nodded, but before he could say anything Crimson scoffed, "Not that what you did could be called fighting."

"That's why they're here my precious blood gem," Shamrock said, "They're here to learn. And lesson one is giving them weapons".

"No," Crimson said looking back to her clipboard, "Lesson one is teaching them to fight properly. After that using their Aura then comes weapon forging".

"Normally yes" Shamrock agreed, "But we're going to accelerate these two, they already know the basics of using their Aura, now they just need to learn how to control and ration it."

Crimson glared at him, "Then start them on that the day's almost over."

"But if we have them forge their weapons now then teach them to fight with their Aura they will be caught up with our senior classes. In the long run, it's less work, and I've got a feeling that these two can do it".

Crimson turned her glare to the new students, Sin didn't notice it at first, but her eyes were just as red as her hair, "Fine" she said standing up, "You" she said looking at Sin, "What's your fighting style?"

"I hit it until it dies" Sin answered.

Crimson's glare turned to fire as she stepped around her desk and leaned over staring directly into his eyes, "Don't get cute with me. What's your plan of attack? Do you prefer offense or defense? Do you try to outwit your opponent or overpower them? Do you prefer speed over strength or a balance between them?"

"I'm a boxer," Sin told her, "I punch things, a lot. Occasionally I'll go for a grapple and a few knee strikes. I prefer to hit first and last. I use my speed to circle my opponent and keep striking, exploit any vulnerable spot I find to stun and keep circling until I've hit them enough that they fall over".

Crimson nodded and looked to Brick, "And you?"

"The big doesn't talk much," Shamrock told her, "According to Sin there."

"Brick is more of a" Sin had begun before Crimson cut him off.

"Stow it" she snapped, "I want to hear it from his mouth only" she stepped in front of Brick and craned her neck to look into his eyes, "How do you fight?"

"I prefer to use my superior proportions to my advantage" the bear Faunus said, a throaty accent accompanying his words, "I use my Aura for preservation in place of assault as Sin does. I have an innate vigor that compliments my size which I use to overcome my adversary".

Crimson nodded and stepped back, "Keep what you said in mind. When forging your weapons, it is imperative that you remember the best weapon is one that suits your style. If you prefer to enter melee combat and attack without relent, then consider gauntlets of some kind and if you prefer to dominate your foe through sheer power then go with something heavy. The ideal weapon doesn't just fit your style, but your personality, so you need, to be honest with this next question, why do you fight the way you do?"

"You don't have to tell us the answer," Shamrock told them, "But you need to give that answer to yourself, the real reason that drives you to behave and fight the way you do. And keep that answer in mind when you forge your weapons".

Shamrock left the workshop leaving Sin and Brick to Crimson who showed them the storage room where they would find their materials and the guidebooks on how to use them, break them down and build them into something else. In the other storage room, she showed them where the dust was kept in case, they wanted to add dust capabilities to their weapons, and lastly, she showed them the forge itself.

"I've shown you what you needed to see," she told them, her tone still harsh, "Now it's up to you to do the rest. I can guide you, but I cannot build your weapon for you. You must decide what you want and how you will use it".

"How much time do we have?" Sin asked noting the time.

"As much as you need," Crimson told them, her tone finally softening, "Now go and show me what you can do."


	5. A Choice

Captain Shamrock burst into the forge, his joyful voice echoing, "Ahoy me hearties" he approached the forge to find Brick still working on his weapon while Sin was leaned over the table, sleeping, "What's this then? Sleeping on the job?"

Brick set down the tools he was using and walked over to Sin gently grabbing a pinch of his hair and lifting his head, Sin's light snores shifted in tone as his head was raised above the table. The great Faunus released his friend's hair and watched as Sin's head fell back to the table the impact causing him to jump back up, waking him.

"What?" he asked sleepily.

"No sleeping on the job laddie," Shamrock told him, "It's morning, I came to check on you."

Sin raised his hand giving Shamrock a thumbs up, "All done" before dropping his head back to the table.

Shamrock looked to Brick, "And what of you matey?"

Brick returned to his project at the other table, "I am nearly finished" he answered, his robust and throaty accent making his words sound aggressive.

"And where might me first mate be?"

Brick pointed to the back of the room. Crimson was slouched over the table in the far corner, three empty bottles around her and a fourth in her hand. Shamrock smirked when he saw her. The former pirate approached his sleeping first mate and grabbed one of the empty bottles taking a whiff of it.

"That kind of night huh?" he asked patting her on the shoulder, rousing her.

"What now?" she groaned barely looking up.

"Decided to have a drink without your Captain did you?"

Crimson tilted her head looking up to him, "Those two were making too much noise, especially the little one. He talks too much".

Shamrock took the empty bottle from her hand and helped her stand, "Go and get yourself some water my precious blood gem. They are almost finished".

Crimson lightly stumbled out of the room, and Shamrock smiled at her as she did before turning his eyes back to Brick who was still going over the last details of his weapon. He had managed to finish when Crimson returned, setting his tools down he threw a discarded piece of scrap at Sin to wake him. Sin's head leaped up again, and he yawned before looking at his friend asking him if he was finished. Brick nodded and pointed to behind him gesturing for Sin to turn around.

"Morning" he yawned seeing Shamrock and Crimson.

Shamrock said crossing his arms, "Well show us what you got my boy."

Sin nodded, yawning again, "Give me a minute" standing up he stretched a bit before grabbing a pair of black gloves from the table the back side and knuckle part of the gloves had thick red padding.

"That's it?" Crimson asked seeing Sin hold up the gloves.

Sin managed a weak grin and told them to cover their ears as he slid one of the gloves on. Waiting for the three of them to cover their ears Sin put a pair of goggles on, covering his eyes and a pair of earplugs into his ears before he turned to a nearby post and clenched his fist. Drawing his arm back he inhaled a quick breath and threw his arm forward jabbing the post and when his fist made contact with it the glove around his hand erupted in a blinding flash of light and deafening sound.

Shamrock threw his head back and began laughing, "That there be one hell of a wake-up call, a flash bomb hidden inside your gloves."

Crimson massaged her forehead her face twisting in pain, "And I guess the goggles and earplugs are supposed to weaken the effects?"

"Nope" Sin told her, "They negate them entirely" he nodded to Brick who walked over to Crimson and Shamrock handing each of them a pair of goggles and earplugs. Placing his set on Brick motioned for the two of them to do the same.

After the three of them put the goggles and earplugs on Sin pointed at his ears, "The earplugs only block sounds above a certain decibel level so you can still hear me talking to you, but they will stop any loud noise. The goggles adjust to any extreme changes in the light around them allowing you to keep your vision during the flash".

He turned around and punched the post again to demonstrate, sure enough, the flash, and the noise was blocked out.

"Impressive" Shamrock chuckled, "How did you think of this?"

"I've seen something similar before," Sin said hesitating to speak any further, the truth being it wasn't his design or idea, he had seen it used by some of the criminal acquaintances of his parents.

"Well, something like that would certainly suit a boxer like you" Shamrock noted looking at the goggles in his hand, "Why did you make four sets of these?"

"Two for me and Brick and two for you" Sin answered, "Or would you prefer to be blind and deaf?"

"How considerate," Crimson said still massaging her head handing hers back to Brick, "The two of you should keep them, as a backup pair."

Shamrock agreed handing his back to Brick, "Or to give your teammates in the future."

"Teammates?" Sin repeated.

"Aye," Shamrock continued, "If you decide to stay around and graduate from this school of mine, you will have a chance to apply to one of the four huntsman academies and soon after you will be placed on a team of four. Of course, each academy has its own way of determining how their teams are formed".

"Good to know" Sin began looking to Brick, "But I'll stick with Brick as my partner."

"There are no guarantees that will happen," Crimson told him, "But you can cross that bridge when you get to it. Now what have you made?" she asked the bear Faunus.

Brick returned to his table setting the sets of goggles and earplugs down, he hunched down and strapped his arm to something before standing up and showing them a large rust colored shield.

He began explaining the details of it as he showed them, "It is five feet by three and four inches thick. It weighs forty-five point three kilograms and" he paused and set the shield in front of him as if he was ready to defend against an attack and the sides of the shield extended outward, "It extends an extra three feet to either side allowing me to cover a larger area."

Shamrock continued to grin, "A heavy shield, seems fitting for a burly lad like you," he noticed the center piece of the shield, a protruding circle, "And what of the center piece there?"

Brick showed them the back side of the shield, three racks of colored balls were held in place, "The centerpiece is a small cannon, and these are dust enhanced cannon balls."

He showed them how he would load the cannon and fire it before admitting the cannon was an idea he had after remembering Shamrock was a former pirate causing the old Captain to laugh again.

"Even in my twilight years I still inspire the young ones."

Crimson taking a gulp of her drink, finally smiled at them, "You've done well, you have forged weapons that compliment your style as well as yourselves, now you must bond with them. For a huntsman his weapon is an extension of himself, it is always a part of him, you must never forget their importance and the best way to do that, is to name them".

"Aye," Shamrock agreed, "Just as I named me ship and me swords."

Sin stared at his gloves; they were a pair, exactly identical, one for his left hand and one for his right. They could be used alone, but they would work best together.

"The Twins" he answered, "Simple, but I think it works."

Crimson nodded, "Indeed" she looked to Brick who had set his shield down.

"The Bunker" he answered, "Something for my allies to stand behind when they are in peril."

"Fine names those," Shamrock told them, "Now that you have forged your weapons and branded them, take time to rest I will start you on classes tomorrow."

Shamrock returned to his office where he had called for Rhia and Alena. The two sisters sat across from him while the former pirate poured a glass of his favorite drink. The two Faunus girls had been attending his combat school for almost a year and yet he knew almost nothing about them. He leaned back in his seat and kicked his feet up on the corner of his desk slowly twirling his drink in his hand. Taking a whiff of his drink, he tipped the glass against his lips sipping a bit the corners of his mouth twisting into a pleased grin.

"Um, Captain?" Rhia began nervously, "Why did you call us here?"

Shamrock finally turned his attention to the sisters, "Why are the two of you attending my school?" he asked catching them both by surprise.

Rhia's ears folded down and she gripped the rim of her shirt in her hands, "Um, so we can learn to fight."

"Really?" Shamrock replied, "According to your teachers the two of you are only here a single day out of the week, and the only classes you attend are the actual combat classes" he took another sip of his drink, "There's more to a combat school than only learning how to fight. So tell me, why are you really here, besides just wasting the time of my staff?"

Rhia continued fidgeting with the end of her blue shirt, "I…I told you".

"Do you want to attend my school?" he asked her.

"I do" Rhia answered.

"Then explain why you are only here once a week."

Alena crossed her arms as the Captain's eyes landed on her, "Because learning to fight is all that matters."

"And what are you doing the rest of the time?"

"Working at the hotel," Alena told him, "Saving up money for tickets to Menagerie."

"So you want to go to Menagerie then?" Shamrock asked, "It's a lovely place I hope to return one day" he took another sip of his drink, "A place where all are welcomed. Do the two of you not feel safe here? I have zero tolerance for any discrimination in my school".

"No, it's not that" Rhia blurted out right as he finished, "It's just…Alena thinks we would be better off there".

Shamrock pulled his legs down from the desk and turned to face them directly, "If that's what you want then I won't try to talk you out of it" he set his drink down, "But unless you start attending all of your classes, I will have to expel you from my school. Just because this is a combat school does not mean that's all we teach you, youngsters. The two of you can already fight well as evident when you helped defend the city the other day, but only knowing how to fight does not guarantee victory. If you wish to go to Menagerie, then I will gladly assist you in buying your tickets just be sure it's what you want".

Shamrock finished his drink, "Now the two of you have a choice to make. You decide that today is your last day in my school and you leave for Menagerie, or you stay and finish learning what we have to teach you. I saw a lot of promise in the two of you when you first came here, that's why I had you set up in that nice hotel and convinced the manager to let you work there to pay for your rooms while you attended my school. Now, which path do you choose? Do you decide to stay and better yourselves, or do you leave?"

Rhia looked down at her knees, "I…"

Shamrock cut her off, "I will give you time to think about it, but I want your answers by the end of the day."

The two Faunus girls left the Captain's office returning to the school's courtyard. Rhia looked to her sister; she seemed annoyed, maybe even angry, it was always hard to tell with her. She knew why Alena wanted to leave, to go to Menagerie because it would be safer, but there was another reason. The truth was, Alena hated humans, not that anyone could blame her, both of their parents were dead because of the humans that ran the company they were forced to work at. Alena wanted to take Rhia, her only remaining family to Menagerie where there were few humans to worry about, a place full of free Faunus where they would be safe.

Hearing Alena grumble to her Rhia finally stopped and spoke her mind, "I think we should stay."

Alena turned to her, but didn't say anything.

"It couldn't hurt" Rhia continued, "Learning as much as we can. We can stay here for the rest of the year, keep working for a while and then leave. The Captain said he would buy our tickets if we really wanted to leave".

"Then we should take him up on that offer" Alena said.

Rhia shook her head, "But if we left today what would we do when we get there? We probably don't even have enough money for a room there assuming there are any hotels. What would we do, just ask someone to take us in, or sleep in the streets? I think it would be better if we stay".

Before Alena could answer someone called out to them. The two sisters looked back toward the training field to see someone waving at them. It was the two boys they met and brought to the school yesterday, a human named Sin and his Faunus friend Brick.

"Hey," Sin said stopping in front of them, "Nice to see you both again."

"Hello Sin," Rhia said shyly, before looking at Brick and greeting him as well.

Brick silently answered with a nod, "Yeah he missed you two" Sin chuckled jabbing his friend's arm, "Especially you" he continued pointing at Alena, "He really likes you."

Brick's large hand rose up, and he lightly punched Sin in the back of his shoulder almost knocking him down.

Sin laughed and massaged his shoulder, "He's just shy" he explained to the sisters before Brick punched him again, "Stop hitting me" Sin yelled stepping away from him.

Rhia covered her mouth, giggling a bit, but blushed when she noticed Brick and Sin were looking at her, "So um…what do the two of you think about the campus so far?"

"It's alright," Sin said, "Looking forward to it I guess. The weapon forging was a bit tiring, but it was fun".

"You've already made your weapons?" Alena asked.

Sin nodded, "Yeah we left them with Crimson though told her we would be back for them later" a light bulb turned on in his mind, "Hey are either of you hungry?"

"A little" Rhia answered shyly.

Sin grinned, "Well it's almost time for lunch and Brick and me never properly thanked you for helping us with those Grimm. So how about we buy".

"Thanks, but no" Alena said crossing her arms.

Sin gave her a questioning look, "Are you really going to turn down free food? Come on that's like the second best thing in the world…well third best…well fourth best".

Again Rhia giggled and covered her mouth, "Well it would be rude to say no since you're offering it as thanks for helping you."

"Excellent" Sin said clapping his hands together, "Just one question, where is a good place to eat around here?"

Rhia could see her sister was still against the idea, but she convinced her to go along with it, and the two sisters led the pair of newcomers to a restaurant back in town.

"Well, this is a nice little diner" Sin said looking around, "Almost like the ones back in Mistral."

"So what part of Mistral are you from?" Rhia asked them.

Sin sighed as he eyed the menu in front of him, "The bad parts sadly, the ones filled with criminals and thugs of all varieties. That's why we left".

"Couldn't handle it?" Alena asked sharply.

"Physically, yes" Sin answered, "You've seen us fight, I'm quick and" he flashed a smirk at Brick, "There are not many people dumb enough to take on someone the size of this guy. But no, we left because it was exhausting dealing with it every day".

"And you came to Vacuo" Alena concluded, "Arguably the harshest place in Remnant."

"Well, it was the only ship we could get on," Sin told her, "We had planned to go somewhere else eventually, somewhere nice and quiet. Big man here suggested Menagerie, and I would love to see that place, so I agreed".

"Menagerie" Rhia quietly muttered, "We're going there to one day."

Sin held his hands out, "Hey maybe we could all be roommates."

"Not a chance," Alena said in a seemingly aggressive tone.

"Alena" Rhia gasped elbowing her sister, "Sorry, she doesn't mean to sound hostile, she's just cautious around new people."

"That's smart," Sin told her, "Stay careful and suspicious, and it'll be harder for someone to pull one over on you."

"But doesn't that make it hard to make friends?" Rhia asked him to which Sin nodded.

"It does" he admitted, "But at the same time it helps you discover which ones are worth having as friends."

Deciding to change to a more social topic the four ordered their lunch and spent the next few hours in the diner. Most of the talking was between Sin and Rhia with Alena only casually chipping in, and Brick was remaining silent the entire time though his expressions made it clear he was enjoying their time together. Deciding it was time to leave the four got up, and Sin paid their bill, and they left.

Rhia asked him how long they planned to stay in Vacuo. Sin wasn't sure, but he knew he wanted to graduate from Shamrock's school and go to Shade academy mostly because he wanted to know what the academy was like. He said at the very least he and Brick would stay there for three years before moving on if they ever did.

"Maybe we'll see the two of you at Shade" Sin said as they returned to the Desert Mast campus.

"Maybe" Rhia answered, "We're not sure if we'll be staying in Vacuo that long."

"I hope you do," Sin said to them, "It'd be really nice if we got to know each other better, maybe even become a team just the four of us."

Again Rhia smiled shyly, "That would be nice I think."

Sin covered his mouth as he yawned, "Well I need a nap, we'll see you both tomorrow right?"

Without thinking, Rhia nodded, "Yeah we'll be here."

"Nice" Sin nodded as he and Brick began to leave, "Maybe we can have lunch again, see you around beautiful" Rhia blushed when he called her that.

After Sin and Brick left Rhia looked to her sister, "I want to stay" she said.

"Why?" Alena asked her.

"Because…well" she hesitated, "Because of them" she admitted, "I like them, they're nice and…well, it'd be nice to have some friends don't you think?"

"Maybe" Alena replied again crossing her arms, "I'd rather leave, but…if you want to stay then we will at least until the end of the semester."

Rhia nodded, "Let's go tell the Captain then."


	6. Shade Initiation

Since the creators of RWBY have yet to release the name of Shade's headmaster I have taken the liberty of creating one for the purpose of this chapter and those to follow.

* * *

Time had passed, a year had come and gone since Sin and Brick arrived in Vacuo. They had attended the Desert Mast combat school, forged and named their own weapons and taken several classes that would prepare them for what would come next in their lives, the Huntsman Academy. There were four to choose from, Beacon in Vale. Atlas named after the kingdom it called home, Haven in Mistral and Shade in Vacuo.

Sin had decided long before their entrance exams which he wanted to attend and as always Brick agreed and followed after him. Sin refused to return to Mistral to avoid running into his parents so Haven was crossed off the list, Atlas was too strict and militarized for his liking leaving only Beacon and Shade to choose from. Sin had decided to look into the two remaining academies; he liked what he saw of Beacon it seemed like a nice and quiet place located at the top of a mountain overlooking the city below it, but he ended up choosing to remain in Vacuo and attend Shade Academy.

The entrance exams were difficult even by Vacuo standards only a third of those that had applied to the academy were accepted. Sin was just happy that Brick had passed with him, not that he was surprised. Of course he was also happy to see that the two Faunus girls he and Brick had met, Rhia and Alena had also been accepted into Shade.

Seeing the two Faunus sisters Sin walked over to them and greeted them, "Well looks like we meet again" he bowed to them and winked at Rhia, "Have the fates brought us together or am I just incredibly lucky to cross paths with you again?"

Rhia smiled sheepishly, "I'm not sure, but it's nice to see you both again."

Sin nodded, "Likewise. Looks like we're going to be classmates again" he smirked at Rhia, "I look forward to it."

Rhia blushed, "Well, same here."

"Come on Rhia" Alena said to her sister, "The opening ceremony, remember?"

"Oh right" Rhia said, "Um would you two like to join us?"

Sin crossed his arm over his chest and bowed to her, "Nothing would make me happier milady."

Brick raised his fist and lightly punched Sin's shoulder causing him to stumble forward.

Sin chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder, "Brick doesn't like it when I flirt with the ladies."

Rhia's face turned brighter, "You were actually…" she fell silent as she looked at the floor.

"Why wouldn't I?" Sin asked, "Someone as pretty as you, you're not about to tell me I'm the only one are you?"

Rhia fumbled her words as she tried to speak causing her sister to step in, "We're going to be late. Let's go, if you insist on following us just keep several feet behind us" Alena told them.

Following the two girls outside the academy they arrived at what looked like an arena. Many students had gathered and at the center was a middle aged woman waiting to address them. Sin looked around taking in the number of people he saw, this event was clearly only meant for new students considering how many were present.

"Hello" the woman in the center of the arena said.

She had platinum colored hair that stopped just below her ears, radiating green eyes, a toned athletic build and tanned skin. She wore an azure shirt that stopped above her midriff with a white cloak hanging down her back, her tan shorts stopped halfway to her knees, she was barefoot right now, but next to her was a pair of black shoes. She looked to be of average height for a woman her age, but she was so far away Sin couldn't tell.

"I am Jaina Eden, you're headmistress. You are all here because you wish to make something out of yourselves. As you begin your first year at Shade please keep in mind the reason you wish to become huntsmen and huntresses and use that as your motivation. Your time here will be difficult as in keeping with Vacuo's only rule; as long as you can prove that you can handle yourselves will you be allowed to remain. As such your initiation will begin tomorrow night an hour after the sun sets. Until then become acquainted with your fellow students and prepare yourselves for your first test. The main hall of the academy will serve as a sleeping area for you all, after initiation is over you will be given dorm rooms. That is all, you are dismissed."

Sin watched Professor Eden reach down and grab her shoes before leaving the arena, "She seems nice enough" he said to Brick and the girls.

Brick nodded as Rhia agreed, "She does, but she also seemed really tired. Did you hear it in her voice? She sounded exhausted."

"Long night preparing for all of this maybe?" Sin wondered, "At any rate she did tell us to get to know our fellow students, but so far I'm only interested in knowing more about the two of you."

Rhia blushed again, "Well you already know a lot about us from combat school."

"True" Sin replied, "But I would like to know more. Perhaps we could have dinner together again."

"We'll pass" Alena said as her sister's cheeks brightened, "You know enough about us and we know very little about you."

"Fair enough" Sin said, "I already told you we're from Mistral, what else would you like to know?"

"Nothing" Alena told him.

"Come now" Sin said to her, "We can't get to know each other like that."

"I don't want to get to know you" Alena said.

"Alena don't be so rude" Rhia told her sister, "He's just trying to be nice."

Alena crossed her arms staring at Sin, "Why are you so fixated on us? There are dozens of others you could talk to."

"I like the two of you" Sin answered before looking to Rhia, "Especially you."

Again Rhia blushed, "I like you and Brick as well."

"Besides" Sin continued, "We did fight those Grimm together that alone should be reason enough to want to know more about you."

Alena shook her head, "You seem like a decent guy."

"Better than decent" Sin told her, "Brick can vouch for me" he looked over his shoulder, "Right buddy?"

The large bear faunus nodded and raised his hand in a thumbs up.

"So why don't you talk that much?" Alena asked Brick.

Brick looked to Sin and then back to Alena, "Most of the time I don't have anything to say, so I remain silent."

"Now you want to talk about a nice guy" Sin said patting Brick's muscular arm, "This mountain of a man right here is one of the biggest softies you'll ever meet. Hands strong enough to crush rocks and Grimm alike yet gentle enough to cuddle a puppy. On top of it all he's my best mate, I love this guy."

"I suppose the two of you do seem really close" Alena said, "Then again you did tell us you both grew up in Mistral together."

Again Sin nodded, "Oh yeah, Brick and I have been together for years, I could not ask for a better friend, but I wouldn't mind adding the two of you to that list."

"I'd like that" Rhia smiled.

Sin looked up to Brick again, "What do you say big man?"

Brick nodded with a low grunt to which Sin grinned.

"Right, so" he looked back to the sisters, "Would the two of you like to join us for dinner? We haven't done that since that one day back at the Desert Mast."

"I'd like to" Rhia said before looking to her sister, "But Alena may not want to."

Alena sighed, "I will join you just watch yourself around my sister."

Sin bowed, "You will find me a proper gentleman. I always act properly in the presence of such lovely ladies."

Alena noted, "You seem more like a flirt than a gentleman."

"I can be both" Sin told her as he straightened himself, "Besides; I merely speak the truth that I see before me. The two of you are beautiful."

"Oh" Rhia muttered, "Well…thank you."

Alena shook her head, annoyed by Sin's comment.

"I only speak the truth" Sin said, "Now about dinner, my treat I still have some money left over."

The night gave way to morning and by Headmistress Eden's advice the students all rested until it was time for their initiation to begin. The students were gathered one again at the arena where the headmistress and two other staff members were waiting for them. Next to them were dozens of large duffle bags.

"I will warn you now" Professor Eden began as all of the first years were gathered, "What you are about to embark on is dangerous. There is a high chance many of you will return with serious wounds and there is a moderate chance some of you may die, but the life of a huntsman requires sacrifice at some point. If any of you wish to back out I will not think less of you."

She looked around at them, "Very well, I acknowledge and appreciate your determination. Your initiation is as followed. Each of you will come forward and take one of these bags each are filled with supplies needed for survival in the desert, but they are not complete sets. Some are just food and water while others are merely tents and sleeping bags. Once you have all taken a bag you will proceed to the rear of the academy where an airship and a number will be waiting for you, once you have all boarded you will be flowing out toward the border of the desert and you will jump from the ship in the order of the number you were given. From that point you will have until noon tomorrow to make your way to the spire in the center of the desert battling the harsh environment and any Grimm you encounter along the way. Once you reach the spire you will find a card, you will take one per person and return to the border of the desert. Along the way you are encouraged to team up with your fellow students should you encounter them. The supplies you will be given are the minimal required for a single person's survival, but as I said you will not have everything needed. When you team up with your fellow students you will have enough to survive as a unit, a team. I wish you all luck and hope that you will all return safely."

Sin wrapped his hand around his chin as the other students filed into lines to collect their duffle bags. The desert was basically the entire kingdom, so Professor Eden clearly meant only the part beyond the academy and the nearby town. Even though he had become accustomed to Vacuo's climate in his year of being there he was still unsure of his ability to survive alone.

"What are you thinking about?" Rhia asked him seeing the look in his eyes.

"Just being thankful they're dropping us in at night" he answered, "It'll be cooler, but once the sun rises different story."

Rhia nodded, "The spire she mentioned it's about twenty miles out. If I remember right it's a structure left from the war eighty years ago."

"They'll have to circle around as they drop us off" Alena told them, "If they just dropped us off while flying toward it, those with higher numbers would be closer. So they'll fly a perimeter around the area until we've all jumped."

"I wonder if we'll get lights or flares" Sin said falling into line with Brick and the two girls, "Since we're dropping in a night we'd be able to see where the others land or are we dropping in at night so it would be harder to see?"

"It wouldn't make since that way" Rhia said, "If they want to encourage teamwork then they would give us a method of finding others."

"But this is also a survival exercise" Alena noted, "Either way we will find out soon enough."

"They never said anything about how we team up" Rhia said, "Like if we have to stick with the first people we encounter or if we can try to survive until we find someone we have a preference to."

"Well I know who I would like to team up with given the choice" Sin said smirking at the fox faunus.

Rhia blushed again, "Would you not prefer to stick with your friend?"

Sin shrugged, "It would be a difficult choice, but I think in the end I would prefer you. For starters you're better to have a conversation with. You're also better looking."

Sin stumbled forward as Brick's massive hand pushed him.

He grinned at the bear faunus, "I love you buddy."

Reaching the arena floor each of them were handed a duffle bag and they followed the line of students to the airship waiting for them. As they boarded they were each given numbers, Rhia was 18, Alena was 29, Brick was 20 and Sin was 7. Once all the students were on board the airship took off and headed toward the desert.

"Attention students" Professor Eden's voice said from the ship's intercom, "There is one thing I forgot to mention. The first person you encounter will be your teammate for the next four years. Again I would like to wish you luck."

"Alright kids" the professor at the door of the airship said, "We're approaching the first drop zone. Line up in accordance with the number you were given and be ready. You'll be jumping from a decent altitude so don't forget to use your Aura when you land."

He opened the door and yelled, "Alright number one, go."

The first student jumped and another seventeen seconds the second followed by the third another seventeen seconds later. Three students per minute, Alena looked behind her there was fifty-two students total it would take about roughly eighteen minutes for all of them to jump. Looking ahead she saw her sister, her eyes were closed, Alena could tell Rhia was trying to steel her nerves for what was coming, it would be the first time in their lives they were away from each other, but Alena wasn't worried. No matter how far Rhia landed from her, she would find her.

"Number seven go" the teacher at the doors yelled.

"I'm not a fan of heights" Sin yelled before jumping.

Tucking his legs in and rolling as he landed Sin looked up following the airship's flashing lights. He could see the students as they jumped, but they were quickly lost in the darkness of the night sky. He heard the numbers given to Brick, Rhia and Alena they would jump long after him, but how far or long would it be until he found them. There was also the rule about being teamed with the first person he saw.

"I should hurry then" he said lifting the duffle bag and slinging it over his shoulders.

Tracking the flashing lights of the airship he began running after it, while it was miles ahead of him already he wasn't going to give up. Finding Brick was his first priority, while he would prefer Rhia to be on his team as well, he wouldn't feel right without his best friend with him. As he ran he heard a loud hiss followed by a shriek and he slid to a stop his shoes becoming buried in the sand.

A death stalker emerged from the sand as he ran by and swung its claws at him. Rolling to the side Sin avoided the attack and charged at the Grimm focusing his Aura into his fist. With a yell he demanded for the monster to die as he punched it in the center of its eye cluster his Aura exploding outward as he struck it fracturing the creature's carapace.

The death stalker shrieked as it backed away now weary of its prey. Making sure his duffle bag was secure Sin raised his fists in the stance of a boxer and waited for the Grimm to move first. The monster lunged forward sweeping with its pincers one after the other both of which Sin dodged as he jumped over them and landed in front of the creature's face and punched it again further damaging its carapace. The Grimm recoiled again backing away and curling its backside as it drove its stinger toward Sin only for him to grab onto it.

When the death stalker pulled its stinger from the sand Sin waited until he was above the monster before letting go of its tail and falling toward its damaged shell. Rearing his fist back he praised the laws of gravity as he landed fist first in the center of the Grimm his Aura once again exploding out at the moment of impact causing the beast to collapse to the ground, evaporating into a black mist a few seconds later.

"Never understood why they do that" he muttered to himself before turning to try and locate the airship.

He found it, but he had no way of knowing how many students had jumped while he was fighting the death stalker. Swearing he picked a direction and started running, praying he was right and cursing the Grimm that had distracted him. As he ran it dawned on him that he never checked what kind of supplies he had been given, not that he cared for him finding Brick was the most important thing at the moment, he would worry about his supplies later.


	7. Four of a Kind

Rhia jumped and looked up to watch the airship as it flew away. Brick was only two places behind her, she would see him drop in a minute, but Sin jumped long before she did. Looking back in the direction the airship came from she wondered how far they had traveled since Sin dropped. She knew Alena would find her eventually, but what of Brick and Sin, she wanted to find them too, she liked them.

"Please be ok," she said looking back in the direction of the area Sin jumped from, "We'll see you soon."

She turned to chase after the airship hoping to find Brick before anyone else, and after him, they would find Alena, and she would help them find Sin. Rhia wanted them to be together, she had made some friends at the Desert Mast, but she liked Sin and Brick. Sin was funny, and even though he didn't speak much, she knew Brick was a gentle giant. The two of them along with her and Alena would make a great team; all she had to do was find them.

She heard something and slid to a stop just as something erupted from the sand throwing her back. Landing in the sand, she looked up to see a king taijitu, the white half of the serpent Grimm was looking around unable to see the prey it had sensed. Rhia noticed she was mostly buried in the sand, concealing her from the Grimm so long as it did not look directly at her. Reaching toward her leg, she grabbed one of her tonfa and leaped from the sand, running for the serpent Grimm while it wasn't looking.

Flipping her weapon around as she swung, the end of her weapon struck the massive snake in its eye. Reaching for the one strapped to her other leg she turned after hitting it and hit it again, the Grimm's head snapping to the side as its eye was blinded. Landing on her back, Rhia scrambled back to her feet her weapons pointed at her enemy as it turned its eyes to her. Pulling the triggers on her weapons, Rhia backed away as she fired the pair of short rifles aiming for the Grimm's eyes hoping to keep it blinded as she retreated, but she stopped when the sand beneath her shifted, and the other half of the king taijitu emerged.

Jumping away as the black half of the Grimm appeared Rhia locked her two rifles together and reached behind her waist for her third one. Aiming the double barrel weapon at the dark half and the single barrel at the white half she once again tried to back away as the two massive snakeheads advanced on her. The black head lunged first, and Rhia fired the double-barreled rifle stopping its attack and jumping back as the white head lunged next.

Flipping her weapons around Rhia swung her right tonfa first once again catching the white head in the eye before she turned and swung the combined tonfa in her left hand nailing its nose before jumping on top of its head. Flipping her weapons once again, Rhia jammed the barrels against the snake's head and fired the rounds piercing its skull killing it. The black head attacked as she killed its other half, its head swinging in from the side knocking her back.

Scrambling to her feet, Rhia turned and leaped to the side to avoid the Grimm's other head as it lunged at her with its mouth open, attempting to swallow her whole. Spinning on her heel Rhia locked her third tonfa together with the other two and aimed the triple barreled weapon at the snake's eye as its head emerged from the sand. The weapon kicked up in her hand as she pulled the trigger forcing her to take a step back to keep her balance, but the king taijitu's head fell to the side with a faint hiss before its body began evaporating.

Brick landed on one knee, his fist driving into the sand as he hit the ground. Slowly he stood up surveying his surroundings before looking to the southwest Rhia had jumped before him and another student, Alena was scheduled to drop later, but Sin had gone far earlier than the rest of them. Turning back to the southwest the large faunus began walking he knew Sin would seek him out first and since Rhia was closer Brick wanted to find her first before moving on to find Sin.

He was sure Rhia could handle herself; he had seen her fight before back when he and Sin first met the sisters, but Brick could also tell that Rhia was not as strong as them or her sister. She was definitely faster and more agile than the three of them, but she was physically the weakest he wanted to find her first to make sure she was ok. His feet sank into the sand with each step, he alone weighed over a hundred kilograms, but his weapon added an extra forty-five on top of it. He broke into a run charging through the sand hoping to find Rhia before any Grimm could.

He stopped when he heard the howling and when he saw their red eyes he reached for the heavy shield on his back. They were resting when he ran by, but now they were aware of his presence and quickly moved to circle him. Brick stood still, watching as the beowolves surrounded him he counted six in total with an alpha leading the pack.

The one to his left attacked first running forward and jumped at Brick with its claws raised, but Brick held his ground turning away from the assault only to swing his shield arm out in retaliation. The heavy shield slammed against the beowolf's side knocking it to the ground, and Brick turned raising one of his boots before stomping down on the Grimm's head crushing it. He heard the alpha howl as the first of its pack fell and the rest charged in to attack.

Raising his shield Brick blocked a claw attack by one of them before throwing all of his weight behind the punch that followed; his punch fractured the beowolf's skull killing it in a single blow before Brick whipped back around his backhand strike knocking another one away. The alpha lunged at him, and again Brick raised his shield defending against the swinging claws, sensing the attack coming from behind him Brick released his shield and turned grabbing the Grimm in mid-lunge and turning around hurling it into its pack knocking them down. The alpha reached over the planted shield and swung at Brick its claws glancing off the bear faunus' Aura as he turned to meet its eyes.

Rearing his fist back Brick hit the alpha with an uppercut, knocking the Grimm into the air before turning his attention to the two trying to flank him. Waiting for the pair to lunge at him Brick stepped back and grabbed both of the monsters by their throats lifting them up and slamming their heads into each other crushing both of their skulls between his hands. The alpha attacked again, jumping at Brick from behind while he was distracted, but once again its claws only scratched his Aura and not the flesh beneath. Grabbing the Grimm by the arm Brick yanked it forward and slammed his forehead against the alpha's snout, and as it reeled back, he pulled it forward again grabbing it by the head with both hands. With an angry grunt Brick crushed the alpha's head between his hands and kicked its body back as it began evaporating in a black mist.

The last of the pack slowly back away as Brick killed the alpha, the Grimm had lived long enough to know when it was fighting a losing battle. The last beowolf turned to flee, but Brick picked up his shield and took one of the dust enhanced cannonballs from the rack on the back of the shield. Dropping it into the centerpiece, he raised the shield and slid open the slot at the top so he could aim and with a pull of the trigger, fired the red orb toward the fleeing Grimm's position. The gigantic faunus watched as the cannon shot exploded, fire erupting around the point of impact with the fleeing Grimm caught in the center.

Alena landed the blade of her naginata in one hand her trident in the other. She stood ready as she looked at her surroundings, there were no signs of any Grimm, but she could hear the sounds of battle in the distance some of her fellow students had entered combat. Closing her eyes, she thought of her sister. She could sense her a few miles away.

Securing her supplies and reconnecting the naginata blade to the end of her trident she began running toward her sister's location. She would not stop she would continue running until she found her. She saw a battle several meters away from her a group of students fighting the Grimm, but she didn't stop only Rhia mattered. She passed by the battling students continuing to run eventually passing another group of students ignoring them as they called out to her.

She was so focused on reaching her sister that she didn't notice it, something had grabbed her from behind and lifted her off the ground. Looking over her shoulder, she saw she was in the talons of a nevermore. It had grabbed her duffle bag carrying her with it. Her first thought was just to undo the strap of the bag to drop and let the Grimm fly off, but she hadn't checked what supplies she had yet, what if it was something Rhia would need.

Flipping her weapon around to the naginata side, she stabbed upward injuring the avian Grimm causing it to release her. Landing on her hands and knees Alena removed the supply bag from her back dropping it at her side. Disconnecting the naginata blade from her trident, she stood ready while the nevermore circled her. Seeing the Grimm preparing to dive toward her Alena aimed her trident and pulled the trigger, the center prong firing a single shot at the giant bird's body. Firing a second time Alena watched the Grimm turn away and begin to circle her again.

The Grimm was nearly invisible against the dark sky as it continued to circle its prey. If it wasn't for the inherent night vision, the faunus possessed Alena wouldn't be able to see it. The nevermore turned toward her and spread its wings flapping them at the girl below raining large dagger-like feathers around Alena.

Running to the side, Alena evaded the feathers that would have ended her and aimed her trident at the Grimm once again this time pulling a secondary trigger that caused her trident to fire and impale itself in the side of the avian. Pulling the trigger again the shaft of her weapon reeled her back toward the anchored trident and Alena slashed at the Grimm's wing as she zipped past it. The nevermore's turn caused Alena to swing as she reeled back toward the trident embedded in the Grimm's body, swinging past its wing and around to its back she drove her naginata blade into its body.

The nevermore shook and rolled trying to force Alena from its back. Pulling her naginata blade free Alena ran toward the monster's head slashing at its body as she ran along its back. Once she reached the monster's head, she leaped off slicing the Grimm's eye as she fell before reeling back toward her trident and unhooking it. Rolling as she landed Alena looked up tracking the wounded Grimm as it once again circled her flipping her weapon around to the bladed side as it dived toward her.

Waiting until the last second Alena jumped to the side and raised her naginata blade the Grimm's weight carrying its wing through the blade as it flew by. With its wing cut off the nevermore crashed into the sand growling as it raised its wounded body up and turned to face Alena again, but once it turned toward her Alena fired her trident into its chest again. Running around the nevermore Alena wrapped the cable of her weapon around its feet before pulling the trigger causing the weapon to reel itself back tripping the wounded Grimm. Jumping onto the monster's back as it fell Alena ran toward its head and stabbed her blade through its skull finally killing it.

Dropping to the ground as the monster vanished in the same manner as all slain Grimm, Alena reconnected her weapon and returned to the spot she dropped her supply bag. Thankfully her supplies were undamaged, laying in the middle of the feathers the nevermore fired at her. Slinging the bag back over her shoulders, Alena took a moment to catch her breath and closed her eyes once again thinking of Rhia.

She was still a ways off, but she could sense her standing up she ran in the direction of her sister's aura. The cries of the Grimm echoed through the night as she continued running, this time she would not stop until she found her sister no matter what got in her way. As she got closer, she could sense another familiar aura alongside her sister's. It was Brick's; they were together. Sliding to a stop atop a hill spotted the bear faunus walking next to Rhia.

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Alena called out to her sister before running toward them. Hearing her sister call her name Rhia turned around and ran into her sister's arms as they met.

"Are you ok?" Alena asked her.

"I'm fine," Rhia told her, "Brick has been with me for a while. What about you?"

"I'm alright," Alena said hugging her again; "I'm glad you're not hurt" she looked up to Brick, "Thank you for looking after her."

Brick remained silent as he nodded.

Alena released her sister and looked toward the spire in the center of the desert, "Alright let's head toward the spire."

"What about Sin?" Rhia asked her, "Shouldn't we try to find him?"

"If he's smart he'll head for the spire like he was told to," Alena said, "Besides why should we waste time going after someone on the other side of the desert?"

"What if he needs help?" Rhia asked her, "What if he's in trouble or doesn't have the right supplies to survive on his own. We have to help him".

"There are others closer to him than us" Alena told her, "He'll be fine."

Rhia shook her head, "No, I'm sure he'll be ok, but" she looked back to Brick who was silently waiting for them, "Brick said his priority is finding Sin and well…I want them to be on a team with us".

"Why?" Alena asked.

"We're going to be sorted into teams of four after this is over" Rhia said remembering Professor Eden's words, "I want them to be a team with us. I like them".

Alena sighed, "Fine. But he's too far away for me to sense his aura. We'll head toward the spire, it's at the center of the area, if he's smart he'll head for it as well, and if I sense him we'll head over to meet up with him".

Rhia hugged her, "Thank you, Alena."

Alena set her supply bag on the ground, "Before we go let's check what supplies we have" opening her bag she saw a tent, a map and a single can of food and a canteen of water.

"I've got stuff to make a campfire" Rhia said, "And a compass."

Alena looked over at Brick, "What about you?"

Brick opened his bag inside another tent and more food and water than what Alena's held.

Alena closed her bag and slung it over her shoulder again, "Alright this will be good if we have to set up camp for the night. Let's get moving".

Focusing their attention on the spire at the center of the desert the three faunus began walking. After a couple of hours the group stopped to rest, the spire was still miles away from them. At their current pace it would be another four to six hours before they reached the spire and if they found Sin by then, they could choose one of the cards Professor Eden mentioned and make their way back through the desert and toward Shade. The question was, when should they sleep.

They had until noon to return to Shade, but the problem was figuring out the proper time to rest. They could sleep now or when they got to the spire, but once the sun rises in the morning the desert will get hot fast, and as it gets closer to noon, it only gets hotter.

"Something is bothering me about this" Rhia said, "Why is our deadline noon? That's more than enough time to make it to the spire and back with a few hours to spare".

"We have made good progress so far" Alena agreed, "We could have this done before sunrise if we didn't have to stop and rest."

"Then why do we have tents?" Rhia asked, "Stopping to set up camp would only waste time so would taking them down so unless we're just supposed to leave the tents out here what is the point of bringing them if we could have this done in one night?"

"It is part of the training," Brick said, "Teaching us to carry things that are crucial to our success. Not for today, but in the future. Should we become huntsmen we will often find ourselves in the wilderness and must learn how to set up a campsite for ourselves and ration what resources we have".

"So this is just another test then?" Alena concluded, "Mixing in survival training with our initiation."

"I say we ditch the tents" Rhia said, "We'll move faster if we only carry food and water anything else will just slow us down" she opened her bag, "Pool as much as we can into a single bag, keep the map and compass and distribute the food and water as needed".

Alena nodded, "I agree these things are only going to slow us down."

Opening their bags, they removed everything except their food and water as Rhia folded the map and slid it into her pocket along with the compass. Lifting the bag with the food and water Brick slipped it over his shoulder and followed the two girls toward the spire. The hours ticked by as they marched through the sand staying close to each other in case a Grimm attacked them and eventually they arrived at the foot of the spire.

Along the walls of the spire were cards nailed to the walls, "Poker cards?" Alena asked seeing them.

"Some are missing," Rhia noticed seeing many of the cards were missing, "All of the aces, the kings, and threes."

"Maybe that's how they decide the teams" Alena guessed, "You're teamed with others who picked the same card…"

"What is it?" Rhia asked after her sister trailed off.

Alena closed her eyes, "I sense Sin's aura close by."

"He's here?"

Alena opened her eyes and walked around to the other side of the spire where she saw Sin sitting against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"He's sleeping" she said, "Why can he sleep at a time like this?"

Feeling a heavy hand on her shoulder, Alena moved to the side as Brick kneeled down and pushed Sin's shoulder with his finger. A snore escaped Sin's mouth as he fell to the stone floor of the spire and woke.

"Is it over yet?" he asked.

"You're lucky your life isn't over," Alena told him, "How can you fall asleep out here? You do know there are Grimm here don't you?"

Sin looked at her before yawning, "I was tired" he said slowly getting to his feet, "Besides you all took your time getting here" he looked to Brick, "Glad to have you back brother."

Brick nodded as Sin looked at Rhia, "I'm happy to see you again."

Rhia smiled nervously and looked away, "I'm…glad to see you're ok."

"Aside from being really tired, I feel fine" Sin told her, "So" he yawned again, "Now that we're all back together what's the deal with these cards?"

"Alena thinks that's how they are going to determine our teams" Rhia told him.

Again Sin yawned, "I guess that makes sense. So let's grab matching cards and get out of here, I miss having a real bed".

"Which ones should we pick?" Rhia had asked before Sin reached for the two of hearts.

"Did you know" he began as he pulled the card from the wall, "That poker cards are closely related to tarot cards? Especially the suits, the club suits are the same as the wands. The diamonds the same as pentacles, the spades are the swords, and the suit of hearts is the suit of cups".

He turned to Rhia handing her the card he picked, "The two of cups symbolizes a deep mutual understanding and intuition as well as balance and unity in a close relationship and even a declaration of love."

Rhia blushed when she heard his last words, "I…did not know that."

Alena stepped between them, "If you're done flirting with my sister its time to leave."

Sin took the two of diamonds while Brick took the two of clubs while handing Alena the two of spades. With their cards chosen Rhia checked her compass and looked to the east it would be twenty miles before they reached the border of the desert, but as long as they remained together they would make it. The sun rose, bringing the night to an end and the heat began beating down on them almost right away. They had held off, now was as good a time as any to use the supplies they had kept.

Opening his bag, Brick handed water and food to his friends as they continued. The heat in the air distorted their perceptions making their destination seem much farther than it was.

"Ok" Sin gasped as he marched through the sand and the sun, "No offense to Professor Eden" he gulped down some water, "But what kind of idiot would subject people to something like this? I've been here for a year, and it wasn't anywhere near this hot when we were in town".

"We'll be fine" Rhia said drinking the last of her water, "We're almost there, I think."

Brick stopped and reached for his heavy shield, holding it above his head he pressed the switch at the bottom of the handle causing the sides of the shield to extend outward covering them from the sun.

"Oh Brick" Sin hugged his friend as he stood under the shield's coverage, "You magnificent bastard I love you."

"It's still hot" Rhia said stepping under the shield with her sister, "But at least it will protect us from the sun" she looked up at Brick, "Are you ok holding it like that? It looks heavy".

Brick smiled and nodded at her before he began walking becoming a mobile source of shade for his friends.

Another few hours and they had finally made it back to the border where an airship was waiting along with Professor Eden and the students that had already returned.

"I'm glad to see you all made it" Eden said to them as they approached.

"Hate you" Sin grumbled as he passed her, "Insanity, heat, want bed" entering the airship Sin collapsed on the floor and immediately began snoring.

"Do you have your cards?" she asked them to which they nodded, "Good, keep them with you until we return. There are more food and drinks on the ship to help you restore your strength while we wait for the rest".

"He sure sleeps a lot" Alena said hearing Sin's light snores as they stepped onto the ship.

Brick nodded.

"At least we're done now" Rhia said, "I would say we deserve a rest."

After the last of the students returned, the airship returned them to Shade where they would gather at the arena with the academy's staff and upperclassmen students all present in the stands. Professor Eden stood alone in the center of the arena with a large screen behind her showing the images of every first-year student. The screen would change showing close ups of four of the students as Professor Eden called their names they stepped forward, and she would assign them to a team and give them a name.

"Rhia Teysa" Professor Eden began, "Sin Saber. Ulrich Mauer. Alena Teysa. The four of you claimed the set of twos. From this point forward you will work together as Team Rust" she looked to Rhia, "And you Rhia will be the leader."


	8. First Assignment

"Why?" Sin moaned as he laid face down on the floor, Brick had lifted his bed causing Sin to roll onto the floor as a way to wake him.

"Maybe if you woke up when we told you he wouldn't have to do that" Alena told him as she finished tying her hair.

Sin rolled over and sat up his blanket falling from his shoulder revealing his bare torso, "So tired."

Rhia dropped his shirt over his head, "Hurry and get dressed we have our first class in half an hour."

Sin groaned, "Could I bribe one of you to take notes for me?"

"Nope" Rhia said turning toward the door, "Now time to wake up, we've got work to do."

Sin reached for the edge of his bed and pulled himself up, slowly pulling the shirt over his head his eyes still closed. It had been two weeks since their first day, two weeks since their initiation trip into the desert and today they would be sent out on a scouting mission. Their first mission as huntsmen in training, while Rhia was excited Sin could only groan, he was not looking forward to another day under the desert sun.

Like a zombie Sin shuffled out of their dorm room, following closely behind Brick as Alena walked ahead of them.

"What's our first class?" Sin mumbled.

Alena rolled her eyes, "Grimm studies, now wake up. I don't want your laziness to give the teachers a bad impression of the rest of us."

Sin moaned, "It's not my fault. You three kept me up all night with that studying nonsense."

Her frustration increasing, Alena could only groan as she responded, "Thus bringing the day you inevitably get kicked out that much closer."

Rhia silenced them, "Enough, both of you. It's been like this every morning since we became a team."

Sin pointed at Alena, "She started it."

"Enough" Rhia told him, "We are a team now, we need to act like it so no more of this especially first thing in the morning."

Sin yawned lightly as he gave a halfhearted salute and continued to follow his teammates through the hall and into their first class. So far his time at Shade hadn't been as exciting as he had hoped, in fact it was boring. His life up until now had been so fast paced and filled with excitement that now everything seemed too slow. Falling into his seat in the classroom he set his elbow on the desk and rested his chin in his hand while the other students waited for the professor to start the class.

Despite how uneventful Shade may be so far, he was enjoying it. A new environment filled with new people gave him something to look forward to. His eyes moved to the end of the row in front of him where Brick was sitting against the wall. The burly faunus carried on as he always did, silent, but Sin knew what he was thinking. He was also enjoying their time at Shade the bear faunus was happy to finally have something proper to put his natural strength into instead of crimes.

Sin allowed his mind to drift back to Mistral where his father would recruit Brick onto many of his jobs, another reason Sin ran away. Brick looked up as if sensing his friend's thoughts giving him a nod to put Sin's mid at ease. Turning his gaze to the opposite side and two rows back Sin found his other teammates sitting next to each other.

He quite enjoyed Rhia's company though he felt less enthusiastic about her sister. Rhia had told him and Brick about their past, that they grew up in Atlas their family working for the Schnee Dust Company as miners while Rhia and Alena worked as maids for the management staff until they were old enough to work in the mines. She even told them how their mother had died because she was overworked and became sick, the foreman and overseers refused to help her forcing her to keep working until she finally died.

Sin felt every muscle in his body tighten with anger as she told him the story, he already knew how the faunus were treated, but it still made him angry. Alena wouldn't allow Rhia to keep going, she said she didn't trust Sin and Brick enough yet to know more about their past and while Rhia knew why her sister felt that way she still protested, saying that teammates need to be able to trust each other. As much as Sin wanted to agree, he found a childish amusement in annoying Alena which only widened the divide between them.

Another yawn escaped Sin, he covered his mouth to muffle himself until the teacher called his name making him jump. Sin looked forward, his eyes quickly zeroing in on the professor as he locked eyes with Sin. Moving his eyes toward the clock on the wall Sin realized he had dozed off, class had already been in session for over an hour.

"Mr. Saber" the professor approached Sin, "Since you've been paying such excellent attention, tell me, do you know the answer?"

Sin yawned again, "Probably, what was the question?" he could hear his classmates snicker a bit.

The professor crossed his arms, "You are faced with a boarbatusk and have lost your weapon in the fight, how do you emerge victorious?"

Sin straightened himself and held out his hands, "Simple, I utilize my secret, punch it in the face until it dies style" again he heard his classmates snicker.

"Could you be any more of a barbarian?" he heard Alena ask him.

Looking over his should at his teammate Sin shrugged, "Well I suppose I could kick it to."

He noticed Rhia chuckle before quickly covering her mouth.

Turning back to the teacher Sin leaned back in his seat, "For a more serious answer, a boarbatusk has an armored head so punching it in the face would prove to be ineffective. I would probably wait for it to charge me and use my aura to daze it, try to get it off balance and aim for its unprotected underside."

The teacher nodded before Sin continued, "Unless that fails in which case I'd go back to punching it, as a boxer my offensive options are limited" again a few of his classmates snickered.

The teacher shook his head as he turned around to walk back to his desk, "You may be winning points for class clown Mr. Saber, but those points will only serve to shorten your life when fighting the creatures of Grimm, I advise you to pay better attention. The knowledge you learn here will save your life one day."

Sin risked another glance over his shoulder, catching Rhia's eye as she looked at him again. He gave her a quick wave and smiled as her eyes quickly returned to her notebook, her cheeks brightening. Grabbing his own pen Sin began taking notes of his own, as tired and bored as he was, the professor was right.

When the bell rang signaling the end of class Sin set his pen down and shook the cramp out of his wrist, he had managed to catch up of the lesson, but missed most of the lecture itself. Grabbing his notebook he stood up, making his way to the door to wait for his teammates catching several smirks and looks from his fellow students. One of the male students that passed him suggested if he punched their first test enough he might pass it.

Sin shouted back, "That was my plan to begin with" he turned back to the door to see Rhia and her sister standing there, "It wasn't" he told them, "I was actually going to study."

Rhia hid her smile as she walked past him, "I hope so, teammate or not I won't bail you out if your grades slip."

Sin began walking next to her, "Maybe the two of us could study together that way you could give me some private tutoring."

Rhia blushed and began walking a little faster, "Maybe some other time."

Sin shrugged, "Maybe is an acceptable answer, it's that no thing that gets me."

Rhia quickly covered her mouth to muffle her laugh turning her eyes downward as she continued moving until she bumped into someone. A surprised yelp echoed as she stumbled back, falling into Sin's arms. Her apology came before she even saw him; he appeared to be around six foot, dressed in a sand stained white t-shirt with faded tan cargo shorts and a matching trench coat lined with over a dozen pockets. His turquoise eyes met Rhia's as he smiled telling her not to worry.

"Verdan" came a panicked voice from around the corner.

A young girl appearing to be the same age as the rest of them ran over to the student Rhia bumped into. She was dressed the same way as he was save for the trench coat, she patted at him as if trying to dust him off while frantically asking if he was unharmed. Before the male student could answer, the girl whipped around locking eyes with Rhia shooting a threatening glare at her.

Verdan grabbed the girl's shoulder, lightly pulling her back, "Nicole, I'm fine stop worrying. She did nothing wrong ok?"

The girl directed another glare at Rhia from the corner of her eyes before she seemed to simmer down, casting her gaze to the floor and sagging her shoulders. The student returned his attention to Rhia and her team, introducing himself as Verdan Allen a second-year student, he gestured toward his friend introducing her as one of his teammates Nicole Tesla. The girl didn't move, she seemed frozen as if the rest of the world no longer existed.

Sin replied first, "Sin Saber, first-year student. This is my group of misfit minions" he nodded to Rhia first, "Rhia Teysa" he flicked his head to the side, "Her sister Alena" he then nodded to the other side, "And my best mate Brick, Team RUST at your service."

Verdan looked at each of them, sizing them up before nodding, "A pleasure, I hope you enjoy your first year here. Nicole and I were in the middle of something so please excuse us; maybe we'll meet again sometime."

After the two second-year students left Rhia raised her shoulders, covering the sides of her neck, "Sin?"

Sin looked down, "Yes milady?"

Rhia blushed again, "Can you, let me go now?"

Sin realized he was still holding onto her arms after she bumped into Verdan, "Oh, sorry" making sure she was standing straight he released his grip on her arms, gliding his hand down to hers gently taking it and bowing as he brought her hand up to his chin, "I look forward to the next time I get to hold you."

Pulling her hand away Rhia spun around to hide her increasing red cheeks, "We should hurry" she stuttered, "or we'll be late for our next class."

When the last class of the day ended headmaster Eden called all first-year students to the main hall for their first assignment as huntsmen in training. The time had come, they would finally be getting away from notes and studying and were about to see some real action, Sin, rejuvenated, ran from the classroom and toward the main hall not bothering to wait for his teammates. Professor Eden was there wearing the same azure shirt, tan pants and white cloak she was wearing on the first day, sliding to a stop in front of her Sin quickly bowed to her asking how much longer until they could get started. Professor Eden seemed surprised at Sin's sudden appearance and energetic appearance, she merely gazed at him for a moment before concluding he was real and answering him.

"Well, you seem eager" she said.

Sin rolled his shoulders back, "Oh yeah, we finally get to do something to get the blood flowing."

Eden rubbed the back of her neck, "Well I can't promise your assignment will be as exciting as you're hoping for, but maybe you'll get lucky while you're out there."

Sin chuckled seeming to calm down a bit, "If it gets me away from all this studying I'll take it."

Eden eyed him, "Studying is just as important as fighting the creatures of Grimm."

"I know" Sin defended, "Its just studying is so boring. I grew up in the not so civil part of Mistral so I'm used to a more, let's say active daily routine."

Eden yawned, "Excuse me. Regardless, your studies should come first. If you try to rush through your youth you won't have the required wisdom or energy to be a huntsman."

Sin groaned lightly, "You sound like Brick."

"Who?"

"Brick" Sin said again, "My teammate, the mountain of a man, faunus, my best mate."

Eden asked, "You mean Mr. Mauer?"

Sin nodded, "His name is Brick."

"Its Ulrich actually" Rhia's voice said from behind him, "Brick is just a nickname Sin gave him."

Sin smirked as he turned to face his team leader, "My best girl, so good to see you again after so long."

Rhia corrected, "It's been less than two minutes."

Sin hummed, "It feels so much longer."

Alena crossed her arms, "That's probably because you started running around like a madman."

Sin tilted his head, thinking, "No I don't think that's it" he looked back at Rhia, "I think it's because every minute away from you is an eternity of solitude."

Rhia crossed her arms, hugging herself as she looked away from him once again blushing, "I…don't have a response for that."

"They never do" Sin admitted before sighing, "But its serious time" he finished, seeing the rest of the first-year students start to gather.

Professor Eden moved her eyes over the gathered students, "You've spent your first couple of weeks learning the basics" she began, "Today you will all be taken out into the desert to get acquainted with the city's perimeter defenses. Some of you who have lived here for a while will already know a little about them, but as huntsmen in training you will need to familiarize yourselves with how they work and the location of each one. Study the defense equipment well as there will be a quiz about them later this week. Afterwards you will explore part of the outlying desert to search for and clear out any Grimm you find. Each first-year team will be escorted by a member of our staff, if any Grimm are spotted all students are to follow the orders of the huntsman leading them without question, even if they tell you to simply stay back and watch."

Eden turned around gesturing toward several hologram screens, "Each team has already been assigned to a huntsman, simply find your team name and report to the designated location to begin your assignment, and remember to do your best, but above all else keep your teammates safe."

The lists were alphabetized making it easier for each team to find their assigned location, Rhia her team to the final list, finding their names near the bottom. It didn't tell them which huntsman they would be following only the location where they were to meet up, the outdoor amphitheatre. Returning to their dorm room first to retrieve their weapons and equipment the four made sure they were properly equipped in the event they would have to fight.

Sin cradled his pair of grappling gloves, "Soon my pretties, you'll see some action."

Alena looked at him, "Are you talking to your gloves?"

"Yeah" he answered, "Why is that weird?"

"Just a little" Rhia answered, "Mostly the way you addressed them."

Sin shrugged, "I worked hard on these two. Do you have any idea how hard it is to rig a high intensity strobe light and sonic emitter into something this small? And to make sure it doesn't get damaged on impact without sacrificing its output. Spoiler alert, its incredibly difficult, so The Twins are important to me."

"The Twins?" Rhia repeated, "That's what you named them?"

Sin nodded, "It seemed appropriate, they're my special girls."

Alena let out an irritable sigh, "I really don't care for you."

Sin gave her a sinister grin, "Get used to it beautiful, you're stuck with me for a long time."

"Maybe I'll get lucky" Alena replied making her way to the door, "And you'll get eaten by the Grimm one day soon."

Sin called after her, "Well if I taste as good as I look I'll be their favorite meal."

Rhia tapped his arm, "Promise me you'll try to refrain from annoying her while we're out there."

"But its fun" Sin answered.

Rhia slapped his arm, "Promise me."

"Fine" Sin groaned, "But you're going to owe me."

Rhia looked down, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shook her head, "And what would I owe you?"

"I'll think of something" Sin shrugged before looking at Brick, "Let's go buddy."

Sin jogged out of them room leaving Rhia and Brick behind, looking up at the bear faunus she asked, "Has he always been like this?"

Brick nodded silently before gesturing to the door allowing Rhia to exit first before closing the door behind him. Leaving the main building and making their way to the outdoor amphitheatre the two faunus heard a familiar boisterous laugh, upon reaching the entrance they saw him, Captain Shamrock. The former pirate turned huntsman was patting Alena and Sin on the shoulders, his gruff and rowdy voice echoing as he expressed his joy at seeing them again.

"I've missed the two of you" he laughed clapping them on the shoulder, "Alena my sweet, how are you? Still grumpy?"

Alena sighed taking a step back and out of his reach, "Nice to see you again Captain."

Sin smiled, "Well I missed you Cap, how's Crimson? Still hot?"

"Aye" Shamrock replied, "And not just from being around the forge all day" he laughed again.

Sin crossed his arms, "Good to know. You might want to get on that, you're not getting any younger."

Shamrock eyed him, "And just how old do you think I am?"

Sin smirked, "I'm willing to bet that back in your day they were still inventing dirt so you'd have something to stand on."

Shamrock threw his head back, his jaunty laugh echoing, "I wish I had you on me crew in me sailing days Sin, you would have fit right in."

"Captain" Rhia called walking down toward them with Brick.

Seeing them Shamrock held his arms out in a welcome, "Ah, little Rhia and titanic Brick. It's good to see all of ye again, it truly is. I hope ye are all getting along."

"Like family already" Sin told him, "Alena wants to kill me in my sleep, Rhia can't keep her eyes of me and Brick…" he shrugged, "Still Brick."

His childhood friend pushed him making Sin chuckle.

Shamrock smiled at them, "I'm glad ye all made it. That day you fought those beasties in the city I knew ye would each make excellent hunters. The four of ye have already fought together once so you're teamwork should be easy to build on. I know the lot of ye will make me proud."

The captain turned on his heels, "Well that's enough of that, let's weigh anchor. Time and profit they wait for no man."

Straightening his violet tailcoat and adjusting his red tricorne hat Shamrock motioned for his former students to follow him as they made their way out of the amphitheatre and into the desert. Before they left the academy grounds they stopped at the main entrance where Professor Eden handed Shamrock a flare gun, the former pirate thanked his old friend before leading Rhia and her team into the desert. A few of the first-year teams had already left, heading in different directions some boarding an airship since they were heading farther out.

Seeing one of the other students wave, Rhia waved back before looking at Shamrock, "How far are we going Captain?"

"Pretty far" Shamrock answered, "We'll be taking me personal transport though, I don't get in any ship that I don't steer meself."

Alena eyed the flare gun Professor Eden gave him, "And I'm guessing that's in case we run into trouble?"

"Aye" Shamrock nodded flashing the gun, "If we run into something we don't think we can handle we fire these and an armed ship will fly out to us, equipped with a whole mess of first aid and guns."

Alena glanced at Sin, "Any chance we can convince them to use their weapons on Sin?"

Sin looked at Shamrock, "I told you she wanted to kill me."

"Enough" Rhia told them, "Both of you, try to act professional."

Sin groaned, "But professional is boring."

"Deal with it" Rhia snapped, "This is important."

Sin sighed, "Maybe we'll get lucky and run into some Grimm."

Brick looked at his friend a low, muffled grunt coming from his throat.

Sin shrugged, "Well as long as its not one of the really big ones I don't have a preference, I just want some action."

Again Brick grunted.

"I'm sure we could handle a death stalker" Sin answered, "As long as we don't get too overwhelmed we should be fine."

"That's the kind of bond I like to see" Shamrock said, "The kind that can only be forged through a vast sea of experiences, the kind of bond where one doesn't need words to know what his mate is thinking."

A playful grin curved Sin's mouth as he looked at Rhia, "We should work on developing that kind of bond. Can you tell what I'm thinking right now?"

Rhia didn't look at him, "You want to ask me to dinner again."

"Wow" Sin continued to smile, "Guess we're closer than I thought. Any chance we can get even closer?"

Rhia rolled her eyes, hiding her smile as they stopped in front of Shamrock's personal ship and stepped on. The afternoon sun was still high, but in another few hours would begin to set, they would return to Shade after dark, but with enough time to rest for their morning classes. Shamrock took the pilot's seat of the small airship and told the team to hold on as the engines started, slowly they rose off the ground before the ship turned toward the west.


	9. Parley

The gunshot echoed, deafening the defeated sailors as they were forced to their knees and their hands tied behind their backs. Cuts and bruises covered them as their captors chuckled freely looting their pockets while they were restrained. The deck of their ship was littered with splinters and debris of their battle, it happened so fast they barely had a chance to defend themselves.

The merchant ship saw the flag of Vale, tied in a knot and flown upside down, a sign of distress. Bringing their ship closer they saw the crew collapsed all over the deck, hanging over railings or hunched over barrels all of them dead, or so the merchant crew thought. When they connected the ship to investigate, the pirates sprung up immediately overwhelming them.

The cannons appeared from the side of the ship and fired, blasting holes through the wood and scattering debris. The pirates hiding below deck surged topside as their decoy comrades started the fight, some of them jumping to the merchant ship to make sure they didn't get away. The unsuspecting sailors tried to fight back managing a few lucky shots from their weapons, but they would not last long.

"A job well done mateys" a single approving voice yelled.

A tall, stocky man stood in the middle of the deck, a red tricorne hat with a dark green plume sitting atop his head. He wore a deep purple tailcoat with gold trim and red breeches. His black boots left heavy footsteps as he strode across the deck ordering his crew to round up the defeated sailors.

A woman with dark red hair came to stand next to him. She wore a white tube top under a crimson brocade coat with black pants and short boots. Her eyes matched her hair and the glare she gave the captured crew caused them to shiver, fearing for their lives.

The pirate captain circled their victims taking in a deep breath savoring the victory and the salt in the air. He patted at his violet tailcoat, shaking the splinters, dirt and dust stains from it before he turned his attention to the captain of the merchant vessel and grinned, a single golden tooth reflecting the light of the blazing sun. He introduced himself as Edwin Shamrock before gesturing to the red-haired woman who moved behind the merchant captain, introducing her as his first mate Crimson Rusla.

The captain of the merchant ship, bruised from his fight pleaded, "Do what you want to me, just let my crew live."

"You not need to worry there" the pirate captain told him, "Less you try to fight again none of you will be harmed. We're only here to take what catches our eye and then we'll send you on your way."

The merchant captain tried to stand, but the red-haired woman behind him grabbed his shoulders and forced him back to his knees, "Please" he begged, "we're barely able to make due as it is, we have families to feed."

The pirate nodded, "So do I lad, I've got quite a big family here on this ship and waiting around for a prize like yours works up an appetite" the pirate captain looked to the woman holding the merchant captain, "Crimson take some of the boys and secure the cargo, take what we can use."

The first mate called for four others to follow her onto the captured ship to sort through what they had. Shamrock looked around at the captured crew, fourteen heads in total all of them bruised or cut or some other light injury, except one. His green eyes fell on the platinum-haired woman being held separate from the rest of the captured sailors, not a single scratch on her and five of his own men were standing guard over her, one of them holding a silver whip and pistol.

Meeting the woman's radiant green eyes Shamrock called for his crewman to bring him the weapons he was holding, "These be exquisite toys lass. Now why would a young lady like yourself be carrying around something like this?"

The woman kept eye contact with him as she answered, "I'm a huntress."

The pirate captain smirked, "Well shiver me timbers, we've a monster killer in our midst lads, we'd do well to be on our best behavior" the pirates chuckled at their captain's remark.

Shamrock approached the woman, "What's yer name lass?"

"I am Jaina Eden, a huntress from Vacuo. Release me and these men unarmed and I'll see to it no charges are brought against you."

Again Shamrock grinned, "An awfully kind gesture, but you needn't worry. As I already told the captain there, ye will all be released safely once we take whatever catches our eye. We've no interest in killing any of you."

"I saw the way you fought" the huntress said, "Someone of your skill should be helping people, not robbing them."

Shamrock stood up, "Ah yes, be a hero, a savior. Tell me, what does that pay exactly?"

"If this is about money I could pay you whatever the cargo is worth, you don't have to take it from these people."

The pirate's eyes returned to her, he kneeled down in front of her, "And how would you do that exactly? Unless you're carrying some money with you now I don't see how you could come through on such a deal."

The huntress suggested, "You release us and follow us to port once we get to land I can" Shamrock cut her off.

"No I think not. That would give you time to contact the authorities and have them meet us, or give you a chance to figure out how to fight back. If you want to pay us to leave you alone you'll come up with a way to do it now."

One of the captured sailors muttered, "Pirate scum."

Shamrock stood and approached the sailor, "No need to mumble laddie, speak your mind, say what you want."

The sailor glared at him and began shouting, "You're nothing more than scum. You prey on ships that can't defend themselves and take what we need to survive. Thieves like you don't deserve to live."

Some of the other sailors agreed, their anger overtaking their fear as they began shouting and yelling. The captain of the pirates merely grinned which only served to provoke the sailors even more yelling louder until the pirate captain began laughing. The sailor he spoke to had enough, he quickly leaned forward, head butting the captain before jumping up tackling him. Standing over Shamrock the sailor quickly raised his foot ready to stomp on the pirate's head, but the ship rocked throwing the sailor to the deck.

The ocean swelled, waves pushing the ships away from each other before something hit the hull of the ship pushing it back toward the merchant ship. Shamrock returned to his feet as a pillar of water erupted from the starboard side like a geyser; a trembling roar deafened them as the column of water fell, soaking the deck. Tossing the silver whip and pistol aside, Shamrock drew his scimitar and heavy pistol ordering his men to arms as the yellow eyes of the serpentine Grimm locked on them.

Shamrock stood in the face of the billowing sand, the wind quickly picking up around them, the King Taijitu staring down at its intended prey, behind Shamrock stood the members of Team RUST each of them watching with anticipation to see a professional huntsman in action. Shamrock was demonstrating how the town's perimeter defenses worked while explaining that even with the detection systems and watch stations scattered around there were times when Grimm could still get through. It was then that the conjoined serpent Grimm burst from under the sand roaring at them before lunging forward desiring to swallow them whole. Drawing one of his scimitars Shamrock stood in front of his former students pulling the trigger of the heavy pistol that made up the sword's hilt, the shot halting the Grimm's attack causing it to rear back.

"Stay behind me" Shamrock told the huntsman in training as he stepped forward ready to face the monster that appeared.

The wind changed direction blowing against them throwing sand and dirt as it became stronger verging on becoming a storm. Drawing his other scimitar Shamrock waited for the King Taijitu to strike again, he turned on his heel the wind blowing at the end of his tailcoat causing it to sail outward as he spun and drove one of his blades into the side of its head pulling it out as quickly as he impaled it he raised his other arm shooting the monster in its eye. He turned again as the Grimm recoiled, spinning on his heel he held his sword across his stomach before slashing upward along the underside of the serpent's mouth. The King Taijitu roared, a black mist bleeding from its wounds as it dived for the huntsman.

Stepping to the side Shamrock closed his eyes when the snake's head dove into the sand where he was just standing; raising his arm he turned his hand around driving his curved sword into its neck. Feeling the blade pierce its scales the Grimm roared in pain as it withdrew its head flailing around. His sword still stuck in the monster Shamrock swung himself onto the snake's head and stabbed his other blade into its neck, pushing the swords away from one another he decapitated the Grimm jumping off its severed head and landing on his feet, waiting for the other half to emerge.

The black half of the Grimm emerged sweeping its body across the ground barely missing Shamrock as he jumped back. Slithering along the ground the Grimm turned from side to side trying to disorient the huntsman before it began coiling around him, the snake loomed over him opening its jaws and bearing it fangs preparing to dive down and swallow him. Shamrock raised his weapons looking up as the sand battered against him challenging the Grimm to give him its best shot.

The Grimm glared at the people on the deck, the fear and anger of the captive crew beckoning it to them, opening its mouth the Sea Dragon roared and Shamrock gave the order for his men to open fire. A staccato of gunfire ripped the air apart as the pirates attacked the Grimm that appeared, however their shots only served to provoke it. With another roar the Grimm lunged forward snatching one of the pirates with its jaws before sweeping its head to the side knocking the others down, the nabbed pirate screamed for his comrades to help him, but the Sea Dragon withdrew its head and swallowed him.

"Captain" a woman's voice yelled from behind.

Shamrock glanced over his shoulder, Crimson and the crewman she took with her had returned topside weapons drawn when they heard the monster's roar. Jumping the gap between the ships the pirates stood at their captain's side ready to fight as the monster turned its gaze to them again. The crew of the merchant ship panicked struggling to get free and away from the monster. Seeing the Grimm turn its attention to the panicked crew Shamrock ordered for the sailors to be cut free and armed.

In a calm stride Shamrock made his way to the captive huntress and cut the rope binding her hands, "Let's see what you're made of Ms. Eden" he said returning her weapons to her.

Turning back he saw the merchant crew freed and each of them, "Alright listen up you blundering squids those of you that aren't armed or too yellow-bellied to stand and fight, get below deck and man the cannons, we're going to send this beast back to the depths where it belongs."

Crimson turned to the crew ordering three of the pirates below deck with the unarmed sailors to help prep the cannons. Reaching into her brocade coat she retrieved her weapon a collapsible staff with weighted claws at the end, waiting for the Sea Dragon to attack again Crimson charged in first twirling her staff around to build momentum as she spun and slammed the weighted end against its head. A burst of electricity exploded from the end of the staff when it made contacting shocking the Grimm causing it to reel back in pain, roaring again the monster spread is wings and began flying.

"Its hide is thick" Crimson told her captain, "Any ideas?"

Shamrock growled, "Our cannons can't reach it when it's in the air like that, we need to coax the beast back down."

"Then we aim for the wings" Eden said tying her hair back and running toward the mast of the ship, climbing up to the rigging and then the crow's nest.

Aiming her pistol the huntress fired catching the Sea Dragon's attention, it stopped circling the ship and dived for her. Kneeling for cover Eden reared her arm back and snapped her wrist forward her whip cracking the air as it struck the monster's wing ripping part of its membrane. Once the Grimm was past her Eden stood up again and fired her pistol trying to keep the monster's attention, hearing gunfire from the pirates and sailors below.

The Grimm flew away from the ship before turning back toward them, flying close to the water's surface as it made a rushing attack against the ship. Thankfully the crew below managed to load the cannons and a barrage of fire intercepted the Grimm forcing it to break off its course and fly away, a final cannonball punching a hole through its wing as it turned away. The monster roared again and a ball of yellow electricity began forming inside its mouth.

"Get down" Shamrock ordered to the crew as the Grimm fired its energy blast.

The blast hit followed by an explosion a shower of wood and steel rained down in all directions as the center of the merchant ship was destroyed.

"My plunder" Shamrock yelled seeing the sinking merchant ship.

Firing at the still airborne monster Shamrock walked to the bow of the ship, standing on the rail as he challenged the Grimm.

"You attack me ship, eat a member of me crew and send me booty to the deep dark. You stinkin' bilge rat you know not who you're quarrellin' with. I be the great pirate Shamrock and I'll be mounting your stuffed head on me cabin wall."

The Sea Dragon made another pass at the ship being deterred by another wave of gunfire. Their shots didn't even scratch the Grimm's hide as it flew past them the rush of wind knocking multiple crewmen down. With the limited range and mobility of the ship's cannons they were at a clear disadvantage against such a beast, but the pirates and their captain planned to go down fighting.

Grabbing a grappling hook Shamrock removed his tailcoat and hat setting them on a barrel as he chased the Sea Dragon to the stern of the ship. Jumping onto the railing he waited for the Grimm to come back around for another pass, holstering his weapons he began swinging the rope muttering a taunt at the Grimm as it drew closer. Throwing the hook meant for boarding another ship he watched the hook catch on the arm of the wing and quickly wrapped his arm around the rope, holding on as the flying Grimm carried him off. Climbing the rope as the Sea Dragon flew around he reached its wing and drew his scimitar again, slashing and cutting at the Grimm's wing he felt the great beast falter as it dove toward the water next to the ship.

Jumping off of the diving Grimm the pirate captain rolled across the deck his sword flying from his hand. His first mate rushed to his side, helping him up as the Grimm emerged from the sea again. The ship's cannons fired once more pelting the monster forcing it to dive and surface from the opposite side, the Grimm stared down at Shamrock and Crimson opening its mouth charging its lightning blast again.

From the crow's nest Eden ran across the yard of the mast and jumped rearing her arm back she snapped her wrist forward, her whip wrapping around the Sea Dragon's jaws. Planting her feet against its neck the huntress pulled against the whip forcing the Grimm's jaws shut, the whip became cold, a crackling sound echoed as ice began forming along it freezing the Grimm's mouth closed. Pulling her whip free from the ice trap Eden leapt from the monster landing on the deck and rolling to a stop, the crew watched as the focused energy in the Grimm's mouth, unable to be released exploded blowing the monster's head apart killing it.

The Sea Dragon's body collapsed back into the water, the splash sending water onto the deck. Shamrock sat against a barrel one leg brought up with his arm resting on his knee, he cursed the Grimm that cost him a profit and a man. The pirate looked around at his crew and the sailors they had captured, they fought well and he would rather see his crew safe than have a chest full of expensive things.

Getting to his feet he looked at the huntress and captain of the sunken merchant ship, "We'll give you a ride to wherever it is you were headin'."

The merchant captain straightened his hat, "Thanks for freeing us. Sorry you lost one your men."

Shamrock nodded, "Aye, he was a good man, could drink with the best of 'em. I'd give me personal loot chest to have him back."

The sun had vanished beyond the horizon by the time they reached the port in Vacuo, the captain of the merchant ship had left with his crew to explain what had happened while Shamrock retired into his cabin. Falling into the chair at his desk he looked down at the stained map pinned to the table, he had been sailing for twelve years, over a decade at sea sailing the world and plundering ships and the only man he ever lost was a crewman who had run off to chase some woman around Vale. Reaching for his flask at the end of the table he unscrewed the rusted lid and said a farewell to his fallen man before bringing the flask to his lips.

He sighed when the alcohol inside never reached his mouth, "Of course it's gone. It's always gone."

He set the flask down when someone knocked at his door, "Aye" he answered before hearing the voice of the huntress, "What do you want?" he asked when she entered the cabin, "It not be wise to disturb a man in mourning."

Eden leaned against the wall crossing her arms, "I convinced the captain not to press charges against you or your crew, though it is your fault that Grimm attacked us to begin with and your fault that he lost his ship the seas are a little safer with that thing gone."

"Mighty kind of you" Shamrock said, his voice expressing his lack of interest or concern, "I said from the beginning I had no intention of killing any of you and I wasn't going to leave you stranded since you all helped fight that beastie, I be a thief and a scallywag, but a murderer I ain't."

"You're also a skilled fighter" Eden told him, "As I said before, you'd make a good huntsman. Seeing you handle that Grimm I can tell you know how to use your aura, the pay may not be as good as pillaging ships and selling the cargo, but you'd be helping make the world a better place."

Shamrock chuckled and raised the flask to his lips again pretending to drink, "Sorry lass, being a hero just isn't my style" he set the flask down, "Now getting back at the beasties that took me mate, that be right up me alley."

Shamrock stood over the defeated King Taijitu reloading his heavy pistol as he stared into the dying monster's eye, "You threaten me crew" he aimed, "You die."

The winds stopped with the gunshot, the sand in the air fell back to the ground and the former pirate returned his weapon to its sheath before he turned to face his former students. He knew they could have handled the Grimm themselves, they had handled far more and worse before they made it to Shade, but he wasn't going to risk it. All it took was a single speck of bad luck for one of those monsters to get you and he swore he would never allow any of his crew to ever die again unless he went down first. His sailing days may be over, but every student that ever came through his school was part of his crew and under his protection even after they graduated.


	10. It's in the Past

"Why don't you use your weapons in combat?" Rhia asked Sin as they along with their teammates returned to their dorm room.

Sin had just finished an exhibition match against another student, "The Twins would make it too easy" he answered.

"It wasn't already easy?" Rhia asked him, "He never laid a hand on you, you dodged everything perfectly."

Sin grinned, "Oh, well that's my semblance at work beautiful. When it's active I see everything moving slower giving me more time to react, it's pretty useful."

"So you see in slow motion?" Rhia summed up to which Sin nodded, "With an ability like that is it even possible for you to lose?"

"Of course it is" Sin told her dropping to a sitting position, "I'm not invincible" he shrugged, "Well not yet. I obviously can't evade an attack coming from a blind spot unless I already know it's coming and if my opponent outclasses me enough I can still be overwhelmed which is why I rely on my speed to outmaneuver others."

Rhia glanced over her shoulder, "What about you Brick? What's your semblance?"

The titan of a Faunus met her eyes, "Fortificazion" his accent heavy. "Mein aura regenerades vile mein schtrength und enturance increazes. Zin vould descripe me as ein mopile moundain."

Rhia's gaze moved forward again, "It's hard to decipher his accent sometimes."

"He becomes a walking mountain" Sin translated, "His aura regenerates and he becomes twice as strong and tough. I'm not exaggerating when I call him a tank" he flashes his friend a grin, "I love you buddy."

A silent nod as a reply and Sin returned his attention to Rhia, "So what about you my love? What's your semblance?"

Sitting at the edge of her bed Rhia's lips curved as she smiled and a clone of her appeared next to her mirroring her movements, "I can create an illusionary copy of myself, a decoy if you will. I can have it mimic my movements or act independently of me, but" she pauses to swing her arm at the clone which vanishes upon contact, "They are only illusions. They can't hurt anyone, but they can be useful as distractions. I mostly prefer to use them in close combat, summoning one with a foot of myself. My enemy will end up striking that one leaving them open for me to strike with my tonfa or shotgun, which you can imagine at close range can be devastating."

Sin rested his chin against his fist, "Smart is sexy Rhia."

The fox Faunus looked away, her cheeks brightening and her smile running away, "I…well I."

Her sister spoke up, "If you're done flirting with my sister we have studying to do."

"You're right" Sin said turning to Alena as she sat at her desk, "But first, how about your semblance?"

A forfeiting sigh escaped Alena's mouth, "My semblance let's me track someone's aura. The more familiar with someone I am the more clearly and further away I can sense them."

"That's pretty cool actually" Sin admitted, "If any of us were to ever be separated during a mission you could find us."

"If I want to" Alena said more as a correction than a response, "I might decide to leave you wherever you are."

"Careful" Sin smirked, "If you get any colder you just might drop the temperature in the room."

Alena retorted, "Maybe I'll get lucky and you'll freeze to death."

Sin pretended to shiver, "Yeah there it is" he quickly turned his attention back to Rhia, "Maybe we could keep each other warm."

Throwing a textbook at him a rosy tint once again colored Rhia's cheeks, "Study first."

Sin rubbed his chest after the book hit him, "Fine, but before that tell me how you unlocked your semblance. We've known each other for almost a year and have been a team for a month and we still don't know much about each other."

"Well" Rhia began thinking back to the day she first used her semblance, "I actually discovered mine after we enrolled at the Desert Mast. I went out to train alone and a King Taijitu appeared and attacked me."

Sin's thumb darted over his shoulder to Brick sitting in the far corner, "Brick there discovered his not long after I met him. The two of us got into a street fight with some other lowlifes. They had weapons we didn't and it didn't matter."

Rhia shifted on her bed setting her back against the wall and opening her text book, "Alena discovered hers before we left Atlas. We got separated and she panicked."

"I would to if I lost sight of you" Sin admitted finally opening his own text book, "I unlocked my semblance during a fight."

"Is that all you did?" Alena asked him, "Get in one fight after the other?"

Sin shrugged, "That's what happens when you grow up on the streets, one day everyone just started moving slower. Of course it took a while before I was able to do it whenever I wanted."

Alena asked, "And how long will it be before we can study without you talking?"

Sin shrugged, "I like the sound of my own voice I will not apologize for that" his eyes darted to Rhia again, "Of course I like the sound of your angelic voice even more."

Rhia turned away from him, "Enough, we have a test in two days we need to study."

Sin pouted and moaned, "I don't wanna."

Alena groaned, "And I don't want to listen to you talk every ten seconds."

Sin corrected, "Seven seconds" he leaned back as Alena threw a pen at him, "Hey" he called pointing at her, "Hostile work environment."

"Enough" Rhia told them, "Come on can't you two go one day without getting on each other's nerves."

Sin looked at her, "But it's fun."

Alena sighed pinching the bridge of her nose, "I'm going to shoot him."

Rhia opened a notebook, "Later Alena we have work to do" she began taking notes, "Here's what we'll do. We each take notes on a different chapter and compile them for final study tomorrow, sound good."

Sin finally settled down and opened his textbook, "I really loathe studying, it's so boring."

"Just do it" Rhia ordered.

Sin saluted with his pen, "By your command milady."

Rhia shook her head as the room settled into silence, though she enjoyed Sin's sometimes excessive enthusiasm she often found herself wishing he would devote that energy into their school work instead of flirting with her or antagonizing Alena. She risked a glance at her teammate who had finally quieted down, his pen dancing across the pages of his notebook, despite his antics he was a diligent student when he was focused and awake. Since she had met him and Brick she had taken note of the extreme contrast in their personalities, Brick perpetually calm and quiet while Sin when awake was nearly always rambunctious and open especially when making his flirtatious comments to her.

The Faunus girl felt her cheeks heat up again, one of the first things Sin said to her when they first met was asking her out, _"Does he actually like me?"_ she asked herself, _"He's been like that since we met, always flirting in some way or another. We honestly don't know each other that well, I mean who does that, who asks someone out while only knowing their name?"_

Her attention returned to her study material, _"There's no denying he's nice if a bit wild at times, he's funny and even a little charming, but he's a Human and I'm a Faunus, why would he be interested in me?"_

"For the record" Sin began shattering the silence in the room.

Alena sighed again, "Called it, he can't go more than a few minutes without talking."

"As I was saying" Sin continued, "The only reason I'm doing this is to help you three, I prefer to roll the dice and see where I end up, but as a teammate and friend I will pitch in and help. Despite how maddening and boring this whole studying thing is."

Rhia forced another smile back keeping her focus on her studies, "We thank you for your sacrifice."

She had expected him to make another comment, another kittenish remark as he always did, but instead he fell silent again the textbook in front of him obtaining his attention once more. He was serious, despite his desire to continue goofing around he wanted to help his team in any way he could. He told them that he and Brick grew up on the streets in the more unruly parts of Mistral often getting into fights with other urchins and lowlifes, but she couldn't imagine that being the case, they were too nice Sin and Brick both they couldn't have lived like that, but why would they lie if they didn't?

Rhia's eyes moved to her sister she was sitting at the corner desk her chair at an outward facing angle, Rhia knew she was sitting like that to keep Sin in her peripheral. Alena still didn't fully trust their teammates especially Sin, not that Rhia blamed her considering their past as well as their own, but if they were to make it as a team then they needed to be able to trust each other. Alena had always been protective of her little sister even more so since their parents died and they escaped the mining facility, but since those days her sister had come to hate Humans for what they did to them, to their parents. Rhia always knew Alena was cautious in order to keep themselves safe, but the way she regarded Sin the way she speaks to him the way she looks at him, did she not like him because of his upbringing in Mistral or did she not like him because he was Human? She didn't want to believe it for a long time, but she knew Alena hated Humans even those with respectable positions like Captain Shamrock and even the hotel owner that let them stay there in exchange for light labor while they attended Combat School.

" _I can't blame her"_ Rhia admitted to herself, _"Humans are to blame for both of our parents dying, our lives being miserable. Not all Humans are bad though, Captain Shamrock, Crimson, Professor Eden and Sin, they're not bad people. It's hard to not be nervous around them after everything we've been through, but to hate them just for being the same species, I can't do that."_

She shook her head and rubbed her eyes the hours of studying taking its toll. Setting her textbook to the side she raised her arms upward, stretching as she puffed out her chest with a yawn.

"I need to ask you to not do that" Sin said from the floor next to his bed.

Rhia rolled her head and shoulders, "What?" she asked massaging the kink in her neck, "Yawning?"

"No" Sin answered, "Well that to, but no" he pointed his pen at her while keeping his attention on his studies, "The way you stretch and push your chest out. It's…distracting."

Realization dawning on her Rhia's face turned a deep red as she reached for her textbook and used it to cover herself, "You're the worst."

Returning his pen to his notebook Sin continued, "I can't help it if you're beauty holds such power over me."

Rhia turned away hiding her face, her lips curving, "Just, stop talking" she told him, "Anyway I'm done with my chapter so hurry up, I want to get to bed."

Sin grinned, "I could tuck you in if you like" he leaned to the side as Rhia flung her textbook at him missing him by an inch.

Their day over the academy students turning in for the night, Remnant's partially shattered moon hovering in the darkened sky casting its spectral light across the desert in shrouds of silver. Waiting for his teammates to fall asleep Sin rose from his bed and silent as a ghost crept from his dorm his team's study notes in hand. Entering the empty library he walked across the large octagonal room his footsteps echoing back to him until he stood in front of the row of printers. Setting their notes in a single printer each he made four copies of each sheet, three to complete the set for his team and himself and a fourth as backup for the future. The hum of the machines filled the room sending him back to Mistral and another one of his father's jobs.

 _The generator hummed as he approached it, him and one of his father's associates. The sky split as the lightning cracked across the sky and the roar of thunder following, the storm had knocked out power to the clinic thankfully their generator kept the power on. The rain outside pounded against the walls and door as Sin and his partner waited for the go ahead, the unventilated room had a musty smell and the dust from the untouched shelves and tools made it hard to breathe._

 _The clinic had received a shipment of high-end pharmaceuticals and they where here to take them. The plan was simple, the clinic was already closed for the night, but there was a late patient and the doctor and guard remained. The plan was to disable the generator and move in securing the doctor and patient before moving toward the pharmaceuticals, the guard wouldn't be a problem, he was on the payroll and would fight back and allow himself to be overpowered and knocked out, easy in and easy out._

 _The lightning flashed again trailed by thunder and Sin's partner turned toward the generator and raised his foot and kicked. The generator sputtered at first before the lights began flashing and a loud metal clank rattled from inside it before it died entirely. Telling Sin it was time to move they silently opened the door for the electrical room to the inside of the clinic, their faces covered their hands gloved and their bags secured tightly over their shoulders they crept through the powerless clinic a pair of voices echoing from down the hall._

" _Ready boy?" his father's associate asked him._

 _Without a word Sin nodded and they continued down the hall stopping when they heard footsteps and saw the flashlight dancing across the walls and floor. When the guard approached the corner Sin's partner moved first leaping out from cover and tackling him, the noise startling the doctor and her patient. With the guard busy pretending to fight back Sin moved into the examination room his gun raised and moving between the doctor and her patient, tossing each of them a pair of handcuffs he told them to cuff themselves to the edge of the table and not to move._

" _Whatever you want, just please don't hurt us" the doctor said slowly reaching for the cuffs._

" _I don't plan to unless you do something stupid" Sin told her hearing the fake fight with the guard wrap up, his partner yelling as he knocked him out._

 _With the guard out old and the doctor and patient restrained Sin backed out of the room and followed his partner toward the back where they kept the drugs in coolers and began filling their bags. The pharmaceuticals were in plastic containers each containing forty-two vials each with a street value of two hundred and sixty lien and then there were the pills with a street value of a hundred and ninety each. The drugs collected and their bags zipped the two headed for the front entrance only to see that the doctor had slipped her restraints and had called the police._

" _Bad move bitch" Sin's partner said aiming his weapon at her._

" _Enough" Sin yelled pushing his arm down, "We've got what we came for let's go."_

 _He pushed Sin away, "After I teach her a lesson."_

 _Again Sin grabbed his arm, "Hey! Theft or murder which do you want to deal with? Now let's go."_

 _His partner glared at him and then back to the doctor, "Give me your wallet" he demanded, grinning as the terrified doctor reached into her pockets and threw her wallet to him._

 _Sin punched his arm, "If I have to tell you again I will shoot you now let's go" he looked at the cowering doctor, "You got lucky."_

 _As his partner turned around Sin moved his leg tripping him quickly reaching into his jacket as he moved to catch him retrieving the stolen wallet._

" _Dammit watch where you're going" his partner growled._

" _Go idiot" Sin told him pushing him out the door before quickly turning and flinging the doctor's wallet across the floor back to her._

Sin shook the memory from his mind, it was in the past, he kept the doctor from being harmed that was all that mattered. Gathering the copies he made he organized them before turning to leave the library not realizing that he was moving rather quickly, the memory of that night and the silent library jarring his nerves. Closing the door behind him he leaned back against the hard wood to catch his breath, he couldn't take it anymore it wasn't just that night, but all the times he had gone to rob a place or fight in the basement of a club or bar or worst of all being brought along on a job meant to eliminate someone.

Inhaling a deep breath he expelled it and hung his head he was getting anxious over nothing, it was all in the past all the way in Mistral on Anima another continent he was as far away as he was going to get.

"Mr. Saber?" a female voice softly spoke startling Sin.

In front of him stood a Faunus in short sand-brown shorts and an off the shoulder red crop a light jacket as brown as her pants hanging from her shoulder covered her left side.

Iris Ritter, the teacher in charge of Grimm Studies. Judging from the grey and brown bushy tail coming from her backside Sin believed her to be a wolf Faunus, one of the more common ones he had seen. A soft-spoken teacher, observant and calm yet strict with her students, she studied the Creatures of Grimm before she became a Huntress taking observational notes about their behavior and social status amongst their respective packs as well as their habits. She once claimed to have tracked a lone Beowolf for three weeks before it rejoined with its pack, as a Huntress she wanted to keep people safe from the monsters of the world, but someone who was curious about the ancient monsters dedicated her life to studying them to learn how to better protect the world from them.

Intelligent, polite and alluring Sin always had to actively fight back his inherent urge to hit on every woman he met, but after his thoughts drifted to that night in the clinic he found he didn't have the energy to devote to such an act.

"Professor Ritter" he nodded in a quiet voice.

She frowned at him, "How many times do I have to ask you students to call me Iris? I'm not fond of titles."

Sin gave her a fatigued smile and nodded an apology, "What are you doing out here so late?" she asked him.

"Studying" he told her keeping his voice level, "I decided to come here and finish the last chapter of notes so I could make copies for my team" he flashed the stack of papers in his hand as proof.

"I see" she answered, "You just seem, uneasy."

"A bit tired" he replied, a half-truth, "Studying is pretty boring, takes a lot out of me, but anything for my teammates."

Iris nodded, "An admirable notion" she turned to leave, "Be sure to return to your dorm and get some sleep. Late studying or not I won't go easy on you if you fall asleep in my class."

" _You can be as rough as you want with me"_ Sin thought as he watched her walk away.

Deciding not to voice his thought he took the professor's advice and returned to his dorm, entering just as silently as when he left only to find Rhia sitting at the corner desk awake and reading a book.

"Hey" he whispered closing the door behind him.

Keeping her voice just as low she set her book down, "Where have you been?"

"Couldn't sleep" Sin told her, "I went to the library" he handed her the papers, "Made copies of all our notes, saves us a bit of time tomorrow."

Taking the papers from him she glanced over them and offered him a smile, "Thanks."

Even though he could hardly see Rhia he could tell from her tone that she was smiling, "You're welcome."

Rhia set the papers on the desk next to her closed book a soft chuckle escaping her throat, "I can't wait to see Alena's reaction when I tell her you did this."

Sin shrugged, "I know I goof off a lot, but I'm serious about this I wouldn't do anything to drag the three of you down, we're a team and well…I like you."

They both fell quiet, uncounted seconds passing before either of them moved. She was unsure if meant you as in their team or if he was referring exclusively to her. As a Faunus she could see in the dark and even though she knew Sin could only make out her silhouette in the dark room she still felt as if he was looking into her eyes.

Finally looking away she thanked him again and wished him a good night before returning to her bed and pulling the blanket over herself.

Saying good night to her as well Sin slowly felt his way back to his bed sensing Brick's large sleeping form at the foot of the bed as he sat against the wall. Silently sitting back on his bed he turned onto his side and folded the corner of his pillow inward for extra support before sliding his hand underneath it and closing his eyes. Aside from their exam the day after tomorrow they would have another mission at the end of the month, one that was meant to test their abilities in the field.


	11. Tensions

"Why?" Sin moaned lifting his face from the hardwood floor.

Rhia thanked Brick as he lowered Sin's bed back to the floor, "You need to start waking up when we first call you" she told Sin, "Then I wouldn't have to ask Brick to dump you out of bed every morning."

Alena watched them from the reflection in the mirror, "Or don't. I enjoy hearing you scream before you face plant the floor."

"It's Saturday" Sin groaned, "A day meant for sleeping in."

"OK" Rhia began, "First, no it's not. Second it's Friday."

Sin turned onto his back, his blank stare locked on the ceiling, "Oh."

"Yeah" Rhia smirked, "So for the last time. Get up!" she crouched next to him, "Because I promise you if we're marked late again because of you, you'll be spending your weekend doing all of our homework assignments, ok?"

She gave him a light double slap on the cheek grinning at him before standing up and heading into the bathroom to change. Yawning loudly Sin finally rose from the floor rubbing the sleep from his eyes still exhausted from his late studying. Their first class was Grimm Studies a class he looked forward to, half because it was about the Creatures of Grimm and half because Iris Ritter, the faunus woman who taught the class was insanely hot.

Pulling his blanket off him and tossing it back to his bed Sin got to his feet yawning again as he stood in front of his open closet to change. He was glad Shade didn't have an official uniform wearing suits of any kind reminded him of the reason he and Brick left Mistral. Yawning again he reached into the closet pulling at the first article of clothing his hand encountered, his eyes still closed as he pulled the shirt over his head.

Alena watched him from the desk mirror as he dressed himself, his eyes closed as he sat at the edge of his bed reaching for his shoes and a clean pair of socks. Despite it being three months since they became a team and over a year since they had met she still didn't trust or like him. Loud and wild for the sake of being the center of attention, constantly flirting with her sister and lazy when it came to their studies, she hated being on a team with him. She hated being near him.

"Alright" Sin said his eyes still closed as he finishing tying his shoes, "Ready."

"About time" Alena said done tying her hair, "Ulrich got dressed faster than you."

"His name is Brick" Sin snored his body swaying side to side as he tried to remain upright.

Alena turned her glare to the bear faunus standing behind Sin's bed, "How do you put up with him?"

Her response was a mere thumbs up from the large faunus. Taking another look at the only human of their team Alena stood up marching toward the door, her disgust apparent in her tone as she headed out without them. Ulrich she didn't mind, but Sin she couldn't stand. Each of her steps echoed across the marble floor as she marched down the hall other students noticing her frustration and cautiously stepping aside.

 _"Damn human"_ her mind growled, _"Why did I have to be put on a team with him? Most of the first-years here are faunus so why a human? And why did it have to be him?"_

She stopped outside the cafeteria clenching her fists attempting to rein in her anger before entering. As usual the volume of the cafeteria was approaching deafening levels, how people could be this loud so early in the morning and in an enclosed environment was beyond her. Selecting her breakfast she retreated to a smaller round table in the back corner setting her tray down and sitting with her back against the wall giving her a complete view of the cafeteria and everyone in it.

She still questioned why she remained her, after her and Rhia escaped from the forced labor of the Schnee Dust Company Alena had heard of Menagerie an island populated by faunus. Tired of hiding out in alley's and sneaking into unused motel rooms they stowed away on a ship they thought was heading to the island only to end up in Vacuo before being forced off when they were discovered. Luck managed to be with them however, the owner of a hotel in the city was a faunus who offered to take them in and give them a room and change of clothes in exchange for help and also convincing them to enroll in the nearby combat school. Even though they were attending the Desert Mast at the time Alena's plan was to work until they made enough money for a ticket to menagerie, but Rhia said she wanted to stay, that she wanted to become a huntress.

Alena tried to convince her sister that her plan of going to Menagerie would be better for them, but Rhia remained adamant in her desire to stay and attend Shade Academy. She understood why her sister wanted to stay, Rhia wanted to make the world a better place she wanted to make sure that what happened to them would never happen to another family, but the reality was things like that did happen and would continue to happen. Alena didn't blame her sister for having that as her goal and motivation, no her real issue came from the people she was forced to be around, humans.

She hid it well only Rhia knew that Alena hated humans, they were to blame for their torturous childhood and they were to blame for the death of their parents. There was a time when the fox girl considered joining the White Fang, to get back at humans for what they did to them and when the dust mine they were forced to work at was attacked she had thought that day had come. Her and Rhia escaped along with over a dozen other faunus on a dust convoy the White Fang stole after their attack, but it was something she overheard one of their members say that stopped her from signing up. It didn't sit right with her, as much as she hated humanity she felt that if she joined a terrible fate would befall her and her sister so instead they ran from their would be saviors as well.

Her sister's voice calling out to her pulled Alena from her thoughts, Rhia along with Ulrich were walking toward her, the bear faunus carrying their human teammate over his shoulder. Her eyes narrowed in an infuriated glare as Ulrich set the still sleeping Sin into the open seat trying to get him to sit up straight only for him to fall forward and whack his head on the table causing him to jolt up in surprise. Her anger only grew when she watched Ulrich pat Sin's shoulder and slide him a tray of food like a servant and her anger grew even more when she heard her sister giggle.

The only time Alena found Sin to be tolerable is when he was sleeping, but as he ate his energy slowly returned and began to wake up. As he yawned Alena fantasized about driving her knife down his throat finally silencing him a fantasy that nearly became a desire as his first words after fully waking were more flirtatious comments directed at Rhia. Alena had come to hate Sin as much as the humans they used to work for at the mining facility, but each time she felt ready to let go and finally lash out at him it was her sister who held her back.

For some unknown reason Rhia found him funny and came to befriend him, Ulrich she could understand as quiet as he was the large faunus was polite and friendly to them since they met. Unlike Sin, Alena liked Ulrich enough to want to know more about him, but never asking him afraid that she would learn that he was actually a servant to Sin and not his friend. The only thing she didn't like about Ulrich was how he seemed so casual and even completely fine with Sin's behavior and personality surely no self-respecting person human or faunus would put up with someone like him.

Finished with her breakfast Alena stood up, "We should get to class Rhia" she said wanting to get away from their human teammate as fast as possible.

"Right" Rhia said checking her scroll for the time, "We'll be late if we don't hurry."

Sin groaned, "I'm not done eating yet."

Rhia looked at him, "You've got two minutes" she turned her eyes to Brick, "If he's not done by then either shove what's left down his throat or throw it out and drag him to class."

The massive faunus responded with a nod as the two sister's left and he remained with Sin who began eating quickly to finish his breakfast in time. They managed to make it to class on time, but the rest of the students were already there leaving only a few selected seats available. As usual due to his size Brick sat on the floor in the corner at the very front of the room, his textbook and notebook set neatly in front of him leaving his team to find their own seats. Rhia had already found a pair of empty seats in the third row, but before her sister could take the one next to her Sin had slipped in and taken it stoking the fox girl's rage even more as she took the empty seat two rows behind them.

 _"One day human"_ her mind growled, _"I'll have the chance to be rid of you."_

The racket of the class quickly died down as the door opened once more and their teacher Iris Ritter entered. A wolf faunus with grey, brown hair and a bushy tail coming from her back just below her waist she was the professor for the Grimm Studies class. A zoologist who specializes in Grimm with several research papers and even a book based on her studies published she was definitely an authority on the creatures of grimm. Most of her studies came from directly observing the grimm in the wild, alone with only her skills as a huntress and knowledge as a zoologist to keep her alive.

During her personal safaris she had observed varying behavior amongst the grimm from the social interactions between the beowolves in a pack to the territorial habits of a ursa and the dens made by death stalkers and king taijitu. Her outfit was almost always the same, a thin layer brown jacket over a white t-shirt and khaki shorts with boots always dressed as if she was about to embark on another outing leading many of her students to believe all of her clothes were the same. Her brown eyes scanned the room, taking count of the students who were present, unlike most teachers who did a verbal roll call she checked the room herself to make sure everyone was there.

As she greeted them and began her lesson for the day Alena's eyes drifted down to the row her sister and Sin were sitting in, she saw the human lean in closer to Rhia whispering something to her which caused the faunus girl to recoil and cover her mouth as she looked away suppressing a laugh. Seeing Sin distract her sister only served to further anger her especially when she noticed how her sister was trying to pay attention to the lecture. At one point Rhia had pointed at Sin's textbook telling him to pay attention, but instead Sin grabbed her hand holding it in both of his as he smirked at her causing the russet haired girl to blush a little and look away once more forcefully pulling her hand free from his grasp.

"This next species of grimm" Professor Ritter said continuing her lecture, "Are especially dangerous so all of you better pay attention. Their called Legionnaires."

She pulls a cord above the whiteboard and a sheet rolls down showing a top, side, under and front and rear view of a grimm that resembles an ant while the TV next to the sheet plays video footage of the topic grimm.

"And when I say dangerous I mean more so than most. The legionnaires are unique amongst the creatures of grimm, unique in the sense that they will attack anything that disturbs their hive including other grimm. Much like common ants they dig burrows underground and live in colonies through due to their size most colonies only number to roughly three dozens, but many speculate the population of these colonies may be even greater depending on a variety of factors such as location, climate and availability of food."

She gestured at the video footage, "Now the legionnaires are native to Vacuo, but they have also been spotted in Menagerie as well, now at first many believed they preferred hot and dry climates such as the deserts here, but ever since they were spotted in forests and near rivers that theory has changed."

The hanging sheet showed the ant grimm to have a black body with red compound eyes and white bands around its abdomen while the joints in its legs and it mandibles were bone white. The side view shot showed a white bone like retractable stinger in the abdomen. While at the top right corner of the sheet was another, smaller top view of the grimm, but with red veiny wings.

The wolf faunus professor continued, "The legionnaire species averages about point three meters in height though some have been reported to be point five. They are point six meters in length while the stinger in their abdomen has measured at point twelve meters in length."

She moved to the right side of the sheet indicating the wings at the top, "As you see there is a variant of this species much like an ursa major or an alpha beowolf. The variant of the legionnaire is called a centurion, they share the exact same physical appearance with only one difference, these have wings allowing them to fly."

Now pointing at the front view of the grimm she gestured at the front of it's head, "It's mandibles have a tremendous bite force enough to crush steel, their antennae much like those of actual insects seem to be quite sensitive and their bodies are unarmored leaving them vulnerable to nearly all forms of attack, however."

She drew their attention back to the video footage as it showed a swarm of nearly a dozen legionnaires overpowering an ursa major killing it, "What they lack in defensive capabilities and speed they more than make up for in numbers. As I said earlier and as you can see hear they will swarm and attack anything that disturbs their nest, but when they are above ground and patrolling their territory or looking for food they act like any other grimm. Which means they are still attracted to negativity and still have a desire to attack and kill every human faunus or animal they come across."

She turned the video off, "Now thankfully this species is rare, with less than a dozen sightings and even fewer attacks recorded every six to ten months, but that doesn't mean you should not be on the look out for them and if you ever encounter one never assume that it's alone. One is not a problem, but two or three can give even an experienced hunter a run for their money, an entire colony can ravage a town in under an hour."

She looked up at the clock, "Now our time is almost up, your homework for this class is a five page essay detailing the legionnaire and the known history of the species since its discovery due by next class and remember next Saturday we're having a class field trip to the canyon in the southeast to observe some wild grimm, so dress appropriately and be sure to bring your weapons just in case and I'll see you all again next week."

The students filed out of the classroom many of them talking rather loudly with each other as they did, "I've heard of the legionnaires, but I've never seen one before."

"I have. They're pretty damn terrifying when there's more than one of them."

"Yeah, have you heard of Calsev? A town toward the north of here a few hours out?"

"Yeah, wasn't it overrun by grimm?"

"It was a swarm of legionnaires. Professor Ritter wasn't exaggerating less than two dozen of them tore a mile long town apart in just over an hour."

"Scary."

Alena waited at the door her bad slung over her should as she leaned against the frame waiting for her sister and by extension her 'teammate'. She heard her sister laughing and her hand tightened against her arm and her nails threatening to pierce her skin when she heard Sin's voice following Rhia's laughter. It wasn't until she saw her sister step out of the classroom her face bright red and the snicker on Sin's face that she finally had enough.

"Enough" she growled at him, "It's bad enough that you have to be so insufferably annoying, but I won't tolerate you distracting my sister during class."

Sin told her, "It's just some idle chit-chat between teammates no need to get upset" he smirked, "Big Sis."

Rhia looked at the two of them, "Alright you two that's enough" she tried to step between them only for Brick to grab her shoulder stopping her.

"Ulr, Brick?" she asked looking up at him, he answered with a silent shake of his head.

"I can't stand you" Alena growled baring her teeth, "Just the thought of being this close to you makes me sick, being a team with you is worse. You're lazy, annoying and you prefer to fool around than work. Why don't you do us all a favor and go die somewhere."

"Alena!" her sister gasped.

"Damn" Sin muttered, "Little harsh Sis don't you think?"

"Stop calling me that!" Alena snapped, "Why are you even here?"

Sin answered, "Cause it's fun."

Alena took a sudden step toward him fists clenched only to stop when she heard their teacher call out to them.

Stepping between them Professor Ritter's usually calm expression had become one of disappointment and anger, "No fighting in the halls, if you two have an issue you talk to Professor Xing and Headmaster Eden and settle it in the amphitheatre."

Sin's smile returned, "Now there's an idea. Maybe it would be beneficial to work out all this hostility in a safe, enclosed environment."

Alena growled once more as Sin continued, "Let's spice it up to, we'll make a bet. If I win, you have to be nice to me. Now I know that will be hard for you, but I believe in you."

Forcing herself to calm down Alena locked eyes with him, "And if I win. I want you off this team and out of Shade. I never want to see you anywhere near me or my sister again."

"Alena!" Rhia gasped once more.

Sin hummed, "Well the risk definitely outweighs the reward, buuuuuuuuuut I accept" he continued grinning, "I'm fairly confident in my chances."

Alena took another step toward him, but Professor Ritter stopped her, "Ms. Teysa" the wolf faunus turned on her demanding her attention, "I will not tolerate my students fighting each other outside of a sanctioned match especially if they are supposed to be teammates. I will talk to Professor Xing and set it up for tomorrow afternoon I expect the two of you to behave until then, if you don't I'll have you both in detention for the remainder of the month, do I make myself clear?"

While she was facing Alena it was apparent she was addressing Sin as well.

"As clear as the crystals that are your eyes milady" Sin replied earning a stern look from their teacher who was not amused by his provocative antics is serious situation.

"Ms. Teysa?" she asked wanting confirmation from her as well.

"Fine" Alena finally agreed before turning and marching away.

After Alena left Professor Ritter turned to Sin, "Try to stay out of trouble Mr. Saber."

"Always" Sin answered before the faunus teacher left as well.

"Dammit Sin" Rhia barked, "Why do you have to provoke her like that? She already doesn't like you and you keep pushing her."

Sin shrugged, "In my defense."

Rhia cut him off, "No! She's my sister and you're my friend. We're a team together so the two of you need to find a way to get along. And you need to start taking these things seriously."

"OK" Sin said, "OK fine, for you."

Rhia rolled her eyes sighing as she turned to leave, "Sometimes you really can be annoying."

Sin glanced at Brick and the bear faunus raised his hand his thumb and finger inches apart the gesture confirming that he partially agrees with Rhia.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence buddy" Sin told him to which his friend pats a heavy hand on his shoulder.

Giving Sin a light push forward Brick answered, "Ve schould hurry or ve'll pe late to our next class."


End file.
